The Houndstooth Gourmet

Happy New Year everyone! This year, you can look forward to a strong focus onseasonal cooking with fresh, local ingredients. I will bring you what’s in season at the farmers markets in the Northern Virginia and Washington DC region, and share with you how ingredients inspire me to eat better and make real food with real ingredients–all year round.

Let’s start with a visit to the Dupont farmers market in Washington DC!

It seemed as though many DC area folks had the same idea as me-get to the farmers market and start the year off right with amazing produce and goods. The Dupont Farmers Market was elbow to elbow by the time I arrived on Sunday, shortly after the 10am opening bell (the market starts an hour later in winter so sleep in!). With a few vendors taking the winter off, the remaining produce stalls had people lined up for things goods such as root vegetables, leafy greens and apples.

Heinz at Next Step Produce was at the market this week. He will be at Dupont every other Sunday through the winter and seemed genuinely excited to answer produce question, from how to store to how to prepare the bounty that was at his stall. A surfeit of sunchokes were nested in the middle of the stall. These large ginger-like knobs are chock full of good-for-you stuff. Just read here!

Over a pound of sunchokes, a leek, and greens from Hakurai turnips had me looking forward to getting home into my kitchen and making this soup.

Sunchoke Soup

(serves 6 with serving suggestions)

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 leek, thoroughly cleaned and rough chopped
• 1 carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3-4 pieces celery hearts with leaves, rough chopped
• 1 1/4- 1 1/2 pounds sunchokes, cut into 1 inch pieces*
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 32 oz. box (4 cups) good quality chicken broth**
• 1/2 cup half and half, or cream
• 2 Tablespoons Mascarpone cheese at room temperature
• Kosher salt and pepper

Directions

In a heavy bottom pan (I use a Lodge enameled cast iron), heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add leeks, carrots and celery, along with a pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Stir frequently

Add chopped sunchokes. Add another pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper. Saute for 5 minutes.  Stir frequently.

Increase heat to med/high. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and allow wine to cook off until most of it is evaporated, about 3-4 minutes. Add thyme, marjoram, bay leaf and chicken stock.

Bring to simmer. Cover pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the sunchokes are tender.

Add half and half or cream, and return to a slow simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.

Remove bay leaf.

Transfer soup to a blender (in batches) and carefully blend for 1-2 minutes, until fully pureed.

Strain through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

Add room temperature mascarpone and whisk to incorporate fully.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve soup surrounding seared scallop atop sauteed greens with rendered bacon or pancetta.

Place a piece of crostini, or toasted brioche bread in soup bowl, with a poached egg sitting on top. Pour soup around and break egg, allowing yolk to enrich the soup.

*Peel skin from sunchokes and immediately submerge whole pieces in water that has been acidulated with the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Remove from water and cut just prior to adding to the pan.

** I use Pacifc natural foods organic free range chicken broth.

Until the next At The Market, eat and buy local when you can.

Tags: District of Columbia, farmers markets, Recipe, soup, Washington by Ramona
11 Comments »

Back at the market at last. I missed my semi-regular Sunday morning ritual of going to the Dupont Market. During spring and summer, I focus on markets which are closer to me, but when they close for the season, Dupont is where I head to. The market has a good vibe-a kind of energy where food and people come together and create something so rustic right in the heart of the city.

Cardoons….cardon’ts

At Next Step Produce, I bought a large bunch of cardoons. I’ve only eaten them once, at Vermillion. I believe it was a gratin dish, and I loved it. I found a recipe for cardoon soup from Mario Batalli, and set out to make it. After prepping, chopping and simmering the cardoons in salted water for about 30 minutes, I decided to check them for taste and tenderness before I went ahead with making the recipe.

They were, in a word, bitter. Perhaps I should have soaked them for a couple hours beforehand. Conquering cardoons would have to wait for another day. Undeterred and still in the mood for soup, I dug out a large bag of frozen broccoli from my freezer, some scallion and cheddar cheese and made a broccoli cheddar soup, served up with sourdough bread that I purchased from Atwater Bakery. Man, that is good bread!

Success with a market salad

While making the soup, I threw a couple beets in the oven to roast and made a simple vinaigrette for a salad. Here’s the recipe for this market salad that truly tasted fresh and wonderful. The beets (New Morning Farm) were earthy, the Allegheny chevre from Firefly Farm was slightly piquant, the cress (Next Step Produce) was peppery and the vinaigrette had a slight licorice taste that went well with the cheese.

Roasted Golden Beet, Chevre and Cress Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Serves 4 generously

Ingredients

• 2 golden beets

• 1 bunch cress, washed and dried (arugula would also work well in this salad)

• 1 log fresh chevre

• 2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar

• 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 5-6 Tablespoons honey

• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, or 1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped fine

• kosher salt

• freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash beets and dry thoroughly. Place beets on foil and/or parchment paper (I wrapped them in parchment, followed by foil) that has been placed on a baking sheet. Drizzle beets with olive oil and coat completely. Generously salt beets with kosher salt. Wrap beets and roast in the oven for 1 hour. Allow to cook and cut top and bottom of beets. Peel skin and chop beets into small cubes.

For vinaigrette, use a bowl and whisk. Pour vinegar in bowl, along with a pinch of kosher salt, several grinds of pepper, mustard, tarragon and honey. Whisk to combine. Continue whisking and stream in olive oil. Check for seasoning.

To assemble salad, lightly dress the cress. Plate cress and top with 2-3 slices of chevre and beets. Drizzle additional vinaigrette on the plate. I like to add a small pinch of good salt crystals and a bit of ground pepper just before serving.

Enjoy the photos, and until the next At The Market, eat and buy local when you can.

Tags: District of Columbia, farmers markets, Recipe, salad by Ramona
8 Comments »

As I lie in bed early on Saturday morning, I listened to heavy thunder and the sound of Daisy and Tucker taking refuge in our bathroom. Cole, my bichone frise, comforted himself by wrapping his warm little body over my head. Thinking nothing of it, I wondered if the farmers would think twice about hauling themselves to the market, and if many people would attend with the inclement weather. But, alas, the rain stopped and the sun peaked out here and there only to turn a mid-seventies morning into a veritable sauna.

At the market, thoughts of braises and soups stopped immediately, and I reverted to summer mode, picking up a half dozen ears of Silver King corn at Ashton’s stand. Tatsoi reappeared at Spring Valley Farm, much to my delight. This dark, leafy green is incredibly tasty. Good for you, too. It can be used raw in salads, or added to dishes at the end of cooking.

On the Royal St. side of the market, it suddenly occurred to me that Papa’s Orchard is at the Alexandria Market. It the the concord grapes that gave it away. I bought 2 large bunches and made a quart’s worth of sauce with them, in the method which I did for the Gorgonzola Cheese Blintzes with Concord Grape Sauce. I’m mulling over cheeky PB&J creations…..I’ll post about that later.

At the Dupont Market, I was excited to see the big paella pan bubbling with chicken, green beans, lima beans and saffron-scented rice. Eight chefs tended the paella, stabbing into it with large spoons to check progress (no stirring-the crisp rice at the bottom is the best part!). About halfway through, six straining chefs turned the pan, then the heat was cranked up to finish the cooking. Generous plates were handed out, and we swooned as we ate it, Tucker notwithstanding.

The paella was part of the Sixth Annual Paella Festival. Guest chef and paella master Rafael Vidal is the third generation of his family to head the kitchen at Levante, a restaurant in Valencia, Spain. Valencia, along with Alicante and Castellon, is the region of Spain where this traditional rice dish originated. Paella, a casserole, is typically made with rice, vegetables, meat and/or seafood. Chef Vidal’s recipe included chicken-Valencian paella does not include seafood.

The paella pan, or paellera, is made of stainless steel, and is round and shallow. The six foot behemoth used for the paella at the Dupont market took six straining men to turn it!

Until the next At The Market, eat and buy local when you can.

Tags: Alexandria, District of Columbia, farmers markets by Ramona
2 Comments »

(flowering chives from New Morning Farm-Dupont Farmers Market_

Wow! What a wonderful weekend we had here in the Washington DC area. These are the days we cling to when the summer turns up the heat and humidity.

Since I was a bit under the weather on Friday, Frank went to the Kingstowne farmers market. Frank noticed a few new vendors at the market. Salsas Las Glorias was selling fresh salsa and tortilla chips. He bought a pint for $6.50, and I can tell you that you won’t find this comming out of a jar. Short of making it yourself-this salsa is the freshest you can get. I believe Salsas Las Glorias is also at the Ballston farmers market on Fridays from 11-3.

Bees n’ Blossoms from Providence Forge, VA sells all things bee pollen and honey. It’s good to see so many local honey vendors thriving. BnB sells honey, honey jellies, honey and wine jellies, herbal honey, creamed honey, honey with bee pollen, bee pollen, bee pollen tea bags and bees wax hand cream. These folks take their honey seriously, and are passionate about the health benefits of bee honey and pollen.

Susie’s Cookies also joined the market with handmade gourmet cookies.

Other market favorites returned, such as Crackpot Gourmet, who supplied Frank with a jar of their new jelly. It’s delicious with a spicy sweet flavor. Smita of Crackpot Gourmet has asked us to help come up with a name for the jelly-Frank and I have some ideas and I’ll let you know the winning name when I hear!

Middleburg Creamery’s truck returned to the market with their terrific ice creams. The owner has sold her little country cafe in Middleburg, but she still supplies the ice cream to the store. She is now focusing on making ice cream and selling it at farmers markets and fairs.

Saturday, Frank and I went to the farmers market at Del Ray. The market was teaming with customers who gathered on the picnic benches to catch up with one another. On the produce front, the mainstays are still asparagus and strawberries. Terrific sweets are sold by Bonaparte Breads, Gracie’s Pastries and Kudzu Cookies.

A nice surprise awaited me at the Alexandria City market-West Virginia’s Spring Valley Farm joined the market and had their first Saturday on May 24. They were quite popular right away. SVF had gobs of strawberries, greens, and even ramps. Of note was their lower prices here as compared to their prices at the Dupont Market. Strawberries were $1.50 less, and ramps were $1 less in Alexandria, compared to Dupont.

Frank and I (along with Tucker) enjoyed a nice breakfast of Emine’s sweet and savory baklavahs along with a large cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.

On Sunday, Frank and I loaded Tucker in the Subaru and headed into DC to go to the Dupont farmers market. The market stalls were overflowing with gorgeous flowers, produce and baked goods. I picked up goldent beets at New Morning Farm, garlic scapes at Next Step Produce, and from Keswick Creamery-a dozen of my favorite eggs and some Ba Ba Blue Cheese. It was a lovely morning at the market. Well, except for the crazy homeless guy who accosted my husband and dog while they waited for me to get coffee from Starbucks.

Check out the post below to see photos of the DC Mall, Monuments and Rolling Thunder which I took after our Dupont Market visit. My favorite picture of a boy looking at the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial made it into DCist today. Yay!

Tags: Alexandria, District of Columbia, farmers markets, Washington by Ramona
7 Comments »

Frank and I are fortunate to live near Washington, DC, where we can see the Monuments, walk the Mall, and see events like Rolling Thunder. After the Dupont Market on Sunday morning, we spent time on the National Mall and the Vietnam Memorial. Enjoy…..back to our normal programming tommorow!

Tags: District of Columbia, Washington by Ramona
5 Comments »