Sides
Ricotta Dip with Pesto & Pistachios
Sauteed Spigarello with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Garlic
This recipe comes from Barbara Cecchini at The Urban Edge Farm in Brentwood. Spigarello is a spring crop that Barbara and her family pick fresh from their fields to sell at their farm store. An heirloom broccoli relative, spigarello is all leaves with understated flowers that do not form the big broccoli florets. It has…
Read MoreSauté of Baby Artichokes, Fava Beans, Green Garlic, and Spring Onions
From Olive Oil Synergies Recipe by Sandy Sonnenfelt, member of the COOC Taste Panel and former prepared foods manager at Market Hall Foods “When these spring vegetables are in season, I enjoy leftovers of this sauté in a breakfast bowl with quinoa or buckwheat topped with feta and a poached egg.” Serves 2–3 as a side…
Read MoreLebna Bil Shwandr (drained yogurt with beets)
Waiel Majid, chef of the now-closed Berkeley restaurant Zatar, grew up near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, where he recalls that plants would self-sow in the riverbed in the summertime when the water level would drop and the sandy, fertile bank would widen. Suddenly eggplant, squash, and tomato plants would emerge…
Read MoreGranny’s Secret Vanilla Oakland Yams
By Chef Mimi Robinson | Illustration by Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh What I remember most about my Granny’s kitchen is the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla when she baked what we called her Oakland Yams. Granny grew her own yams right in her backyard in North Oakland. When I was young, she would tell me stories…
Read MoreLet’s Cook Potimarron Squash!
The name of this French heirloom cucurbita maxima is a squashed-together concoction of potiron (pumpkin) and marron (chestnut), but the bottom line is that it’s plenty tasty! Chef Anthony Paone created this recipe our Fall/Winter 2010 issue story, “What Do You Do with a Black Futsu” when he was at Sea Salt, a seafood-forward restaurant formerly…
Read MoreMarinated Fire Roasted Peppers
Way back in 2006, Chef Romney Steele of The Cook and Her Farmer in Oakland offered a version of this simple recipe to the Rockridge Market Hall newsletter, and they have been a hit ever since during pepper season. There’s something about the intense grassy aroma of the roasting peppers that makes uscrave the…
Read MoreWhat’s in Season?
Produce harvested at its peak is your sure bet for flavor and freshness. By Barbara Kobsar | Illustration by Charmaine Koehler-Lodge Snap Beans & Shell Beans Now is the time to scoop up fresh beans at your farmers’ market. Both edible-pod snap beans and shell beans (those you have to shell) are ubiquitous through…
Read MoreTatsoi with Spicy Thai Sauce
From the story: How to Grow a Farmer First-Generation Farmer Erin Eno Finds Community Through Growing Food on Mount Diablo Story and photos by Austin Price Many local farmers’ markets, especially those hosting Asian farmers, sell tatsoi during the cool season. It might be labled with any number of other names like tago choy, tah…
Read MoreSautéed Shishito Peppers
Fry them in hot olive oil until they blister, then serve them whole sprinkled with a bit of flaky sea salt.
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