Recipes Grown from Early Spring Farmer’s Market Finds
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Boniato con Mojo Verde
By Christy Halvorson Ross
It’s a crazy time in the world and a crazy time for food shopping. Farmers markets are a great way to stay outdoors, and all markets should be using strict precautions to keep you safe by creating one point of entrance and exit so that you don’t have to work your way against a crowd, spacing out their tables, pre-packaging produce, and even accepting orders by phone in advance of your pick-up.
Early spring is a great time for seasonal produce, because the hearty root vegetables of late winter are still available, but you can also get sprouts, greens, berries and more. You’re sure to find both sweet potatoes and sunchokes at your market in the early spring. Give these recipes a go!
Boniato con Mojo Verde
You may not know just what nutrient powerhouses sweet potatoes actually are. Sweet potatoes are packed with fiber, and are deliciously filling (and low calorie!) They are a source of potassium, vitamin B1, B6 and C. They also contain a phytoestrogen which helps women detoxify excess estrogen, and improves symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and/or perimenopausal symptoms.
This dish was inspired by a recent meal at Bouqueria, and I set out to make it fully plant-based, but still creamy and flavorful! It’s essentially a crispy sweet potato side dish, with a smooth and spicy cream sauce and a fiery green chutney on top. First, preheat your oven to 425˚ and prepare the sweet potatoes for roasting. While they cook, make your 2 (easy peasy!) sauces.
The Crispy Sweet Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 425 and Line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll the sweet potato wedges in the olive oil and salt and pepper them rather generously. Roast for about 20 minutes, flip the potato wedges, and roast for 15 minutes more.
The Mojo Verde Sauce
6 garlic cloves
2 cups cilantro
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon.sea salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
In a food processor, combine the garlic and cilantro. Blend until well combined. Then add the cumin, salt, EVOO and vinegar. Blend again until you have a sauce.
The Spicy Yogurt Sauce
15 ounce container of Forager Project plain cashew yogurt
½ teaspoon Sriracha or hot sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cumin
⅓ teaspoon cayenne
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Sunchokes with grapefruit and pistachio
Sunchokes with Grapefruit and Pistachio
Another great farmer’s market find are sunchokes, or Jerusalem Artichokes. Sunchokes are a good source of iron, potassium and thiamin. They are low in calories and high in fiber. The primary carbohydrate they contain is inulin, which has little effect on blood sugar and is therefore beneficial for diabetes or pre-diabetes. Sunchokes are also one of the most sustainable foods for our planet and can feed a lot of people, with less water and farmland. So tasty, if you haven’t eaten them, you must try out this amazing recipe.
2 cups sunchokes washed and quartered lengthwise (keep peels on)
1/4 cup pistachios
1 grapefruit supremed (peel cut off, and sections cut out of membranes)
2 shallot diced
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups arugula
Extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 425˚. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the sunchokes with ample amounts of olive oil and sea salt, and roast for about 35 minutes, stirring once.
Cut the shallots and place in a small bowl. Boil the vinegar, syrup, and salt together in a pan and then pour over the shallots. Let cool.
Once the sunchokes have cooled a bit, toss them together with the pistachios, grapefruit, pickled shallots, and serve them over a bed of arugula. Serve at room temp.
Christy Halverson Ross is the Founder of A Little Green Cleanse. Little Green Cleanse is a Washington DC-based company that offers anti-inflammatory cleanses and other programs throughout the year. A certified nutritionist, Ms. Ross teaches clients about detoxing their bodies using the most nutrient-rich, fresh, real foods available and about building healthy new habits for the kitchen and lifestyle that are nourishing.
