What better way to start your day than a trip to the farmers market — the ripe colors, local flavors, and fantastic people-watching give new meaning to dish. Operated by the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market showcases overflowing stalls full of fresh regional produce every Tuesday and Saturday at the eminently cool Ferry Building off the Embarcadero. It’s a veritable Bay Area Eden. Grab your reusable canvas bag and sashay through the thronging crowds in style.
Every year, CUESA spotlights the market’s regional organic goods at a fundraising four-course Sunday dinner prepared by teams of Bay Area chefs. The following mouthwatering recipes made it to the tables at the Sept. 30 event:
SAUTÉED CHARD AND KALE
Recipe by Joseph Boness, Alembic
2 strips bacon, coarsely chopped (you can substitute 2 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter)
1–2 shallots, minced (or onion; should total 2 tablespoons)
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch kale, center stalks removed, rinsed and drained well, coarsely chopped
1 bunch chard, center stalks removed, rinsed and drained well, coarsely chopped
1 baguette, sliced 1/4–1/2 inch thick, drizzled with olive oil and toasted until golden brown (optional)
1/2 cup goat cheese (optional)
In a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Add the shallot and sauté in bacon fat until soft.
Add the garlic to pan and then immediately add the vinegar and wine, along with salt and pepper to taste.
Shake pan to combine flavors, turn down heat, and add the kale and chard.
Stir and cook until the greens are just tender. Remove from heat to serving bowl. Serve immediately. Or, if serving as crostini, top each piece of sliced, toasted bread with some of the greens mixture and a dollop of goat cheese. Serve.
RABBIT WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR WITH A SIDE DISH
OF GREEN BEANS AND CHERRY TOMATOES
Recipe by Rick Hackett, executive chef of MarketBar Restaurant
Yields 4 generous servings
For the rabbit with balsamic vinegar:
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 rabbit legs
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup black olives
2 anchovy fillets
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
In a heavy-bottomed pan large enough to hold all of the ingredients, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the rabbit legs until they are nicely browned, working in batches if you need to so as not to crowd them.
Add the wine and balsamic vinegar, scraping the pan to get the browned bits off the bottom. Turn heat down to medium and cook until liquid is reduced to a glaze.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium to low heat until the rabbit legs are tender, about 1 hour. Serve immediately.
For the green beans and cherry tomatoes:
1/2 lb. pole beans, blanched
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 lb. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
Slowly heat the olive oil with the sliced garlic until the garlic turns a golden color. Add the cherry tomatoes and blanched pole beans until warm. Add parsley and serve.
WARREN PEAR SORBET
From Rebecca Courchesne, Frog Hollow Farms
2 lbs. pears, Warren or Comice or Taylor Gold
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup (or to taste) Tocai Friulano or muscat wine
Peel, core, and cut the pears into quarters. In a saucepan with barely simmering water, heat the pears until soft. (Cooking the pears before pureeing will keep them from oxidizing and will make for a whiter, lighter sorbet.)
Let cool. Puree the pears and the liquid in a food processor. Remove 1/4 cup of the puree and add 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Stir together completely, and then heat over low flame until the sugar is dissolved. Stir back into the remaining puree and add lemon juice and adjust sugar by adding sugar directly to the base. Add more lemon juice if needed.
Add Tocai or muscat wine. Chill thoroughly, and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Best to use a soft pear, like a Warren or Comice or Taylor Gold (which is a Comice hybrid). A Tocai will work best here, but a muscat will do also. You could even try a sparkling wine. I recommend something sweet. The Ferry Building wine merchant recommended a Tocai that worked beautifully. Although that particular wine is not available, they or another knowledgeable wine merchant could help you find the perfect match.
MUSCAT GRAPESICLES
Find golden muscat or other sweet muscat wine grapes from the farmers market or from your own or a neighbor’s yard. Make sure they are gold in color, nice and ripe.
Wash, destem, and put in a small shallow container. Freeze (don’t worry — they won’t stick together when frozen).
You can use any grape for this, but the muscats work particularly well. The skin and seeds are a nice foil to the incredible sweetness of the grape and add an earthy texture.