AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
Cooking demos:
6 p.m. Friday: Chef Lynn Ware will demonstrate gluten-free quinoa tabbouleh salad. Lilburn Farmers Market, Lilburn. www.lilburnfarmersmarket.org/
9 a.m. Saturday: Chef Gary Donlick of Bistro Niko. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday: Chef Brent Banda of La Tavola. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
11 a.m. Saturday: Chef Matt Weinstein of Woodfire Grill. Green Market at Piedmont Park, Atlanta. www.piedmontpark.org
Chef demos are held at many farmers markets. Check your local market’s Facebook page or website for information.
FOR SALE
Just arriving: pears, spaghetti squash
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, blackberries, blueberries, cabbage, carrots, chard, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, field peas, garlic, herbs, kale, lambs quarters, leeks, lettuce, Malabar spinach, melons, mushrooms, okra, onions, peaches, pears, pecans, peppers, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, shallots, spaghetti squash, spinach, spring onions, squash blossoms, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips
From local reports
When farmers are deciding what crops to grow, they have many audiences to consider. Restaurant chefs, customers who shop at local farmers markets, those who buy into the farm’s community supported agriculture program, if they have one and yes, even the farmers themselves – what will they want to buy, prepare and eat?
Seth Hancock, farm manager for Dillwood Farms in Loganville, says “snack” peppers, also called “lunchbox” peppers, are a surefire hit. “People always seem to want them. They’re so sweet you can use them for anything in cooking or in salads. And when we’re at the markets, they just make the tabletop when you have a big stack of them to set out.”
These sweet little peppers are a relatively recent addition to the world of bell peppers. When immature, they’re green, and while edible, don’t really offer much to distinguish themselves from their bigger bell pepper cousins. But once they turn red, orange or yellow, these nearly seedless little peppers really shine in both color and sweetness.
Hancock tried growing the snack peppers for the first time last year. “I used to grow a ton of different peppers, but once I discovered these, I cut out growing the rest. We grow a few banana peppers for the restaurants, but no hot peppers at all. I got tired of giving them away,” said Hancock.
Dillwood Farms sells about 80 percent of their crop to restaurants, and most of the rest goes to their booths at the Wednesday Grayson market, the Thursday Tucker market or the Saturday markets in Snellville and Brookhaven.
Hancock started about 100 pepper plants in April in high tunnels and harvest will begin at the end of July or in early August. He also put another 400 plants out in the field in June. With a maturity date of a little less than three months, he should have snack peppers available well into the fall.
All peppers are subject to diseases and pests in our muggy climate, but Hancock says snack peppers seem to be more resistant, and certainly have a higher yield per plant, just like cherry tomatoes and other smaller vegetables and fruits.
Hancock enjoys the raw peppers for their sweetness and crisp texture. They make a great dipper for the hummus and baba ganoush he picks up at local farmers markets. He says his wife will take a bag of them and snack on them plain throughout the day.
Unless you plan to use them within a day, store your peppers in plastic bags in the refrigerator. Peppers fresh from the farm will keep at least a week. And if you’re tempted to buy more than you can eat up fresh, they’re easy to freeze. Roast them and remove the skin and seeds, then freeze the roasted peppers in quantities you can use for recipes, or simply slice them raw, remove the seeds and freeze for cooked uses.
Kevin Maxey’s Grilled Sweet Peppers with Chorizo and Queso Fresco
Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 45 minutes Serves: 4
This recipe comes from chef Kevin Maxey of Superica, the Tex-Mex concept from Ford Fry coming soon to Krog Street Market. Maxey assures us this recipe is Superica-style, although the opening menu for the restaurant is still being worked out. He suggests making sure to take advantage of the full range of colors when selecting your sweet peppers.
The stuffing would be delicious with any variety of peppers – sweet or hot, small or large .
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 yellow onion, finely diced
Large flake sea salt
8 ounces fresh chorizo sausage, casings removed
8 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
1 bunch cilantro, chopped fine
3/4 pound small peppers
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the chorizo and cook, crumbling with the back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer the chorizo mixture to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, combine cooked chorizo, queso fresco and cilantro.
Using a small paring knife, remove the top and seeds from the peppers. Spoon the cheese filling into each cavity, pressing it down to fill the entire cavity. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Preheat grill to medium high. Lightly oil the grates. Have one area of the grill available for indirect grilling.
Arrange the stuffed peppers on the grill over indirect heat, cover the grill and roast until the peppers are tender, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Per serving: 499 calories (percent of calories from fat, 71), 27 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 39 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 101 milligrams cholesterol, 968 milligrams sodium.
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