At the grocery store, you’ll find one variety of shallot, the Dutch shallot with a large single bulb or a cluster of bulbs and copper-colored skin.
It takes farmers like Mark Capps and Lynn Teddlie of Straight from the Backyard Farm in Loganville to help us understand that there are shallots, and then there are shallots.
Capps knows all about Dutch shallots, but when it comes to taste, he recommends French gray, or griselle, shallots. “The flavor is remarkable,” said Capps. The gray shallot’s tough, thicker skin means they’re not as eye-catching as their shiny copper cousins, but the rich, creamy flavor makes them worth seeking out. To find them locally, you’ll most likely need to find a local farmer.
Earlier in the season, Capps was taking shallot greens to market. A bundle of shallot greens looks a lot like a bundle of green onions or garlic chives, but carries that distinct shallot flavor. The farmer knows that when the greens begin to yellow and fall over, the shallot bulbs themselves are ready to harvest.
This year, Straight from the Backyard Farm is selling at the Marietta Square Farmers Market on Saturdays and Sunday, the Emory Farmers Market and Whistle Stop Market in Norcross on Tuesdays and at the Tucker Farmers Market on Thursdays.
Capps says shallots are easier to grow than garlic and a better crop for farmers since they offer a harvest of both greens and bulbs. He’s put in about 8,000 bulbs with 1,500 row feet devoted to growing shallots just for the greens. He keeps a succession planting growing in order to have greens available for a longer period.
What do you do with shallots? Classic French recipes call for shallots for salad dressings, sauces and some soups where the mild sweet flavor is a counterpoint to the rest of the ingredients. Pieces of shallot soften nicely when gently cooked and disappear into the soup, unlike chopped onion which seems to retain its texture no matter what. Perhaps this is why shallots are essential to classic French butter sauces such as buerre blanc.
“In my opinion, they are the member of the onion family that goes best with seafood,” said Capps. In Southeast Asian dishes, shallots are often deep-fried and used as a garnish.
When you get your shallots home, store them in something that will provide plenty of air circulation and in a cool, dry place.
At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
4 – 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18. Chef Seth Freedman of Forage and Flame offers demos throughout the market. East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
9 a.m. Saturday, July 20. Chef Daniel Porubiansky, CenturyHouse Tavern, working with eggs. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday, July 20. Chef Ford Fry, Rocket Farm Restaurants. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
11 a.m. Saturday, July 20. Chinese Southern Belle. Green Market at Piedmont Park, Atlanta. www.piedmontpark.org
11 a.m. Sunday, July 21. Chef Robert Phalen, One Eared Stag. Grant Park Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.grantparkmarket.org
For sale
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, beets, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, broccoli raab, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, corn, cucumbers, dandelion, eggplant, fennel, garlic, green beans, herbs, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, Malabar spinach, mushrooms, okra, onions, pecans, peaches, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, squash blossoms, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips
From local reports
Todd Ginsberg’s Heirloom Tomato and Shallot Salad
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1
Todd Ginsberg, chef and co-owner of The General Muir at Emory Point, gave us a recipe for a simple and delicious fresh tomato-shallot salad. “When shallots are treated in this manner they can be used to add the perfect pitch of bitterness balanced with sweetness to almost any dish. They are great when freshly cut in a raw application, like this one. On the second day after cutting, you’ll want to use them for cooking only,” he wrote. Ginsberg offers detailed instructions for preparing the shallots.
1 heirloom tomato (about 1/2 pound)
1 medium shallot
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
Basil, for garnish, if desired
Core tomato and slice into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Arrange on serving plate.
Peel the shallot and cut in half. Using a paring knife, cut shallot halves crosswise into 20 slices each, keeping slices together. Turn halves and cut lengthwise into thirds. Use a chef’s knife to reduce the size of the pieces to 1/8-inch.
Put minced shallots in a sieve and rinse with cold running water. Put minced shallots into a linen dish towel and squeeze dry. Do not be afraid to be aggressive with the squeezing.
Sprinkle shallots over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and sherry vinegar. Garnish with basil if desired.
Adapted from a recipe provided by chef Todd Ginsberg of The General Muir.
Per serving: 91 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 2 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 137 milligrams sodium.
