Buying Fresh and Local For a Party from the Farmer’s Market

Thinking about having a summer party that makes good use of the abundant local fresh fruits and vegetables? How about a small plate party? Immerse yourself in some recipes for small plates, tapas, mezze, pinchos, pizziche so that you will have a general idea of some things you might want to make or pick up on the way home from the farmer’s market. No matter what you call them, they are all small plates and are a fun way to sample many things at one sitting without overeating.

Shopping is the most important part of any cooking effort. Always look for fresh—with produce, meat, cheese, well everything. At the farmer’s market, you can ask the people who picked it, when it was picked, how long it should keep. With produce this usually means firm and without blemishes. Should you put it in the refrigerator? Or will it ripen on the counter. (as a general rule, do not refrigerate tomatoes.) Our local Waccamaw Market Cooperative meets on a different day of the week in various locations around Horry County. The vendors there offer, meat that has been raised and humanely slaughtered locally, honey, baked goods, cheeses and eggs. Check their facebbook page, https://www.facebook.com/WaccamawMarketCooperative/ to find the day when they are nearest to you.

The hardest part of a day at the market is making selections, so I like to arrive around opening time to get the best choices. My market is North Myrtle Beach opens at ten on Friday mornings.

I usually check out each and every vendor before buying anything. Since I rarely go with a list, the circuit helps me plan my list. Before going, I decided I would definitely use eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini. I knew I was going to stick with meditteranean flavors.Anything else, the sausage, the peppers, the figs, they were a bonus.

By the time you read this, figs may no longer be available since their season is short, but blackberries and of course, peaches make great desserts.

After the circuit, I started off at the back, bought a cheese from Ovis Farms and some of their little tonmatoes—yellow ones, to use more for decoration in a regular salad or a zucchini noodle salad. I decided against greens and went for a cucumber, zucchini, several, yellow squash, and some peppers—red, yellow and green at some other vendors.

Then I purchased a package of four sausages, Italian sweet. If you are not sure which of their many tasty sausage varieties to select, Russell usually has some freshly cooked samples for market customers to taste. I picked up an onion, some small peppers for stuffing, some eggplant and lots of regular sized tomatoes. I favor the heirloom variety. Basil, parsley, riccotta, lentils, mozzarella and even bread, I had already as well as ground meat, olive oil,cumin, grated pecorino romano, grapes, and yogurt.

One of the vendors in this market is a re-seller—he does not grow his own but his produce is also very fresh and he did have a couple of items that do not grow readily here in this season.

The pie lady at Waccamaw and the honey booth are definite temptations for me, but for this time, I skipped the yummy things from thier booths. I opted to use figs with cheese as the dessert.

The recipes for some of these dishes is obvious—for example, the figs and prosciutto simply require washing the figs and wrapping each one in a half slice of prosciutto. I’ve chosen three recipes to share with you. Here is what I made. Recipes follow for those noted with (R)

Appetizers

Figs wrapped in prosciuttio

Set out the cheese (gouda) on a plate with crackers, grapes

Main course/side course items

Stuffed zucchini (R)

Sausage and peppers (R )

Roasted red and yellow peppers

Tomato caprese

Fried eggplant slices

Fried eggplant stacked with mozzarealla and tomato , like a carpaes wbut on top of a piece of delicious fried eggplant

Zucchini and yellow squash spiral salad, with little tomatoes

Grilled eggplant topped with lentils and eaten with home made tatziki sauce ( R)

Dessert

Figs with manchego cheese as a dessert

Simple peaches. I could have made little shortcakes, but opted for to simply offer a bowl of fresh, plain fruit.

Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients

Two sweet Italian sausages, sliced

One half of a large onion

Two bell peppers—nice if one is red or yellow and one green

2 Tablespons olive oil

Method.

Slice peppers, remove seeds

Slice onion

Saute in oil

When the peppers begin to soften, add the sausage slices.

When the sausage is browned, cover the frying pan and

Allow the cooking to continue.

Note: This is essentially the same way to cook sausage and peppers for any meal or sandwhich.

Main difference is that I sliced the sausage.

Grilled or Baked Eggplant Slices Topped with Lentils

Ingredients

1 Medium eggplant

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning

1 cup dried lentils (rinsed)

1 can low sodium chicken broth

2 Tablespoons bread crumbs

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste and for the eggplant

Method

Slice eggplant lengthwise after trimming off stem area

Salt the slices and lay on a piece of paper towel

Let the slices drain for one half hour on each side

While the eggplant is draining, cook the lentils in chicken broth

When the lentils are done (about twenty minutes), drain and then mix with bread crumbs, cumin and add salt and pepper. Set aside.

Mix the olive oil and Italian seasoning. Brush onto the eggplant slices. (Both sides)

Place the eggplant slices on a pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

When the eggplant is done (soft, fork tender) then pile lentils on top and bake another five minutes, just to get the flavors a bit together.

Serve with plain yogurt or Tatziki.

One per person, one half a slice for a small plate

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini

Olive oil

¾ pound ground veal or beef

¼ pound ground pork or sausage

¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 clove garlic, minced,

½ cup cooked rice

2 eggs

Salt and pepper

Olive oil, 2 or 3 T

½ cup chicken broth or water for steaming the zucchini

½ c mozzarella for topping at end

Method

Cut off both ends of the zucchini,

Split lengthwise

Scoop out seeds, place in frying pan with the ground meat, 1 T of olive and garlic

Brown the meat adding salt and pepper to taste

While the meat is browning, steam the zucchini to soften them a bit. I use a closed casserole dish in the microwave. The added chicken broth helps the softening, Do it at two minutes, check, then two minutes again, until soft, but not mushy.

Cool the browned meat at least five minutes and then mix with rice, tomato paste, grated pecorino romano and eggs.

Scoop onto the drained, soft zucchini boats, Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Top with the mozzarella and then heat again for about three to five minutes, until the cheese is melted.

This story was originally published August 23, 2016 at 5:14 AM with the headline "Buying Fresh and Local For a Party from the Farmer’s Market."