Pesto Pasta with Seared Corn and Padrón Peppers

Visit the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market this Sunday between 10 am - 2 pm, on the corner of Agate and 19th Ave., for beautiful summer produce from Camas Swale Farm, including fresh tomatoes, corm, and padrón peppers, and pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm.

We are delirious with excitement when the padróns are available, and want to sear them and eat them on everything. This pasta dish was especially delicious and packed with summer flavors. Starting with pesto pasta, I layered on seared corn, seared padróns, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Pesto Pasta with Seared Corn and Padrón Peppers

pesto
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup whole almonds
2 ounces pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
1 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

1 pint padrón peppers
2 ears corn
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup cubed feta cheese
olive oil
1 lb pasta

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil.

2. Make the pesto. In a dry skillet, heat the unpeeled garlic clove until it is soft and blackened in spots. Transfer to a cutting board to cool before peeling. Put the whole almonds in the hot skillet and toast until they are fragrant, but don't let them burn. You can also toast the garlic and nuts in a toaster oven. Combine the almonds, peeled garlic cloves, cheese, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and chop coarsely. Wash the basil leaves and add to the food processor. Blend while pouring in the olive oil until it is a fairly smooth paste. Taste and add salt or more olive oil to taste.

3. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Peel the corn and when the pan is hot, place in the ears. Rotate to sear the kernels on multiple sides. When they have some nice char in places, transfer them to a plate. When the ears are cool enough to handle, use a knife to cut the kernels off the corn and reserve.

4. Adjust the heat to medium high. Add about 1 Tbsp olive oil, swirl to coat, and then add in the rinsed padrón peppers. Spread into a single layer and allow them to char a bit. Then start turning them to char on multiple sides. When they are nicely seared, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.

5. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the instructions. Reserve a small amount of starchy pasta water, then drain and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the pesto, using a little pasta water to thin if necessary. Toss in the corn, peppers, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese (or keep on the side and let people help themselves to their preferred toppings). Enjoy.

Roasted Pepper, Eggplant and Feta Scramble with Sausage Patties

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including celery, greens, peppers, and winter squash.

Having weathered our first full week back at school, and with the fall chill in the air, this morning felt like the time to have a hearty, celebratory breakfast. I made a batch of these buttermilk biscuits, fried up some Fair Valley Farm sausage meat into patties with caramelized onions, and whipped up some scrambled eggs with feta cheese and left over roasted eggplants and peppers from Camas Swale Farm. A leisurely weekend breakfast was just the right prescription to offset the weekday mornings' increased hecticness and dwindling summer sunlight.

Roasted Pepper, Eggplant, and Feta Scramble (for two)

I cup roasted vegetables, such as peppers and eggplant, chopped
1/4 cup cubed feta cheese
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
butter for the pan

Heat a skillet over medium low heat. Whisk the eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. Prepare the roasted vegetables and feta cheese. Melt a pad of butter in the skillet and swirl to coat. Pour in the egg mixture and then sprinkle over the cheese cubes and chopped vegetables. Use a fork to pull the cooked edges of the eggs to the center and tip the pan to distribute the liquid eggs outward. Repeat until all of the eggs are cooked. Immediately transfer the scrambled eggs to two warm plates. 

Sausage Patties with Caramelized Onions

1 lb ground sausage meat
1 large or two small onions, peeled, halved, and sliced into half moons
slick of vegetable oil

Shape the sausage meat into 8 to 10 small patties, 1 inch thick. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Coat with a slick of neutral vegetable oil. Add the sliced onions to the pan and toss to coat in the oil and to break up the onion layers into strands a bit. Move the onion to the center of the pan and add the sausage patties. Allow to cook until well browned on one side, then flip and cook on the other side until the meat is completely cooked through. Meanwhile stir the onion strands occasionally so that brown nicely but do not burn. Serve warm.

Grilled Vegetable Bibim Guksu

You can shop for all of your Labor Day weekend supplied this Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market. You'll find pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including tomatoes, eggplants, summer squash, and peppers for grilling.

If you are planning to grill this weekend, I can highly recommend a grilled vegetable version of bibim guksu, which is a variation on Korean bibim bap, but with soba noodles instead of rice. We've made this dish a couple times this summer with grilled vegetable, chicken skewers, smokey Chinese eggplant salad, crunchy cucumbers, cilantro, and kimchi. Every time it's been gobbled up before I can get a picture of the full spread.

Bibim Guksu

serves four

noodles
300 g (3 circular packets) of soba noodles
Cook in salted boiling water until barely cooked through (about 4 minutes), then immediately rinse under cold water until entirely cooled. Toss with the bibim guksu sauce (below).

Bibim guksu sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Korean gochujang paste for a mild, kid-friendly sauce, or more as desired 
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Mix together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust flavorings as desired.

Serve the noodles at room temperature with grilled vegetables and meats, Chinese smokey eggplant salad (below), fresh cucumbers and cilantro, and kimchi.

Chinese Smokey Eggplant with Garlic

adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice

2 large eggplants

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar

2 Tbsp chili oil with its sediment (or use a diced fresh hot pepper and 2 Tbsp sesame oil)

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp finely sliced scallions (green part only) 
Cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

1. Prepare the eggplant and garlic cloves as in the recipe above.

2. Mince the garlic and dice the eggplant pulp. Combine in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves if you like and serve with soba noodles.

Chili Topped Spaghetti Squash

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, baked goods made with local whole grains from WildFlour Oven, and fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company.  Camas Swale Farm will have plenty of fresh fall produce including lots of sweet peppers and winter squash.

Spaghetti squash is a always fun member of the winter pantheon. It can be cooked in the oven or steamed in a pressure cooker, and then brushed with a fork to release its spaghetti like strands. 

With the arrival of the chilly fall weather, I had a hankering for chili, which turned out to be delicious dolloped onto a bed of squash strands with a dusting of cheddar cheese and a side of seared padron peppers.

Chili Topped Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash (baked in the oven or in an Instant Pot)
Cut off the stem, halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Bake cut side up until soft for about an hour minutes in a 325 degree oven along with the chili, or steam in an Instant Pot pressure cooker for 6 minutes, followed by a quick release of pressure. Use a fork to release the squash spaghetti strands.

Chili (slow cooked in the oven or in an Instant Pot)
2 cups dried red beans, sorted, rinsed, and soaked for 8-10 hours
1 Tbsp bacon drippings or canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chipotle chilli
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp unsweetened chocolate
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
salt to taste

In a Dutch oven or the container of an Instant Pot set to saute on high, heat the bacon drippings or oil and then saute the onions until translucent. Add the diced peppers and keep cooking until they are soft and the onions have started to caramelize. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add the beef and saute until cooked through. Add the spices and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and the soaked beans plus two cups of water, beer, or reserved bean broth from a pervious batch of cooked beans. Mix and cook in a 325 degree oven for about four hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft, or cook in an Instant Pot on high pressure for 25 minutes, allowing the pressure to release naturally. Taste and add salt as needed. If the chili is too liquid, you can thicken it in the stovetop or by using the saute function of the Instant Pot.

To serve, make a bed of warm spaghetti squash and top with chili and a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese.

Wildflour Oven Bread at the Market

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company, and plenty of fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm including lots of sweet peppers and collard greens (both so delicious roasted on toast or in tacos).

Also this Sunday we're happy to have a new addition to the Market of WildFlour Oven offering wild fermented breads with local whole grains.

If you are a bread enthusiast and were sad to see our local Eugene City Bakery close a couple years ago, now your Sunday market shopping can be completed with some home made loaves from Wildflour Oven. Last week we enjoyed a Sunday dinner of lamb burgers with Fair Valley Farm ground lamb on Wildfour Oven's challah topped with harissa, accompanied by Camas Swale Farm grilled eggplants and sweet peppers and fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes topped with lemon crème fraîche sauce. For the week we had delicious sandwiches of grilled vegetables and feta cheese on Wildflour Oven's whole wheat loaf bread. A source of fresh baked bread is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Seared Corn and Pepper Salad with Ahi Tuna

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, as well as fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company. 

Camas Swale Farm will have plenty of summer produce including:
peppers and sweet corn (sear in a warm salad, below) 
celery (for these celery beef lettuce wraps)
leeks and tomatoes (try this leek and cherry tomato clafouti) 
delicata squash (make what my son calls "squash candy")

My husband and I got to celebrated our anniversary this year viewing the spectacular corona of the total solar eclipse. I even made some eclipse cookies for the event. A week later the stars aligned and we found ourselves kid-free with the chance to whip up a belated anniversary dinner. We seared ahi tuna, corn, and peppers, and served these with sauteed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, black lentils, and a lemon crème fraîche sauce. It was a lovely dinner and then the kids came rushing back into the house to remind us of a couple of the major accomplishments of our marriage. 

Seared Corn and Pepper Salad with Ahi Tuna

serves two

corn and pepper salad
1 ear corn
1 mildly hot pepper
salt to taste

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Shuck the corn. Place the corn and whole pepper on the skillet and sear. Rotate and sear on all sides until the corn and pepper are partially charred but still a bit crisp. Remove from heat and when cool enough to handle, seed the pepper and cut it into small pieces and cut the corn kernels from the cob. Combine and season with salt to taste. Serve warm.

ahi tuna
1/2 pound ahi tuna steak, cut into in inch wide strips
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat a skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Season the tuna with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the pan and when hot, add the ahi strips. Let sear for about 30 seconds per side, turning with tongs. Remove from heat when the interior looks more raw than you like because it will continue to cook. Serve with lemon crème fraîche sauce.

lemon creme fraiche sauce
2 Tbsp crème fraîche
zest of 1 small lemon
juice of 1 small lemon
1/2 tsp honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Whisk together the crème fraîche, lemon, and honey. While continuing to whisk, add the olive oil slowly to emulsify. Taste and add salt, and more lemon or honey as needed.

Soba Noodles with Seared Scallions and Shishito Peppers

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, as well as fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company. 

Camas Swale Farm will have lots of fresh produce: melons and watermelons, strawberries, garlic, salad greens, pardon peppers, carrots, and tomatoes, including heirloom, cherry, and paste (time to start stockpiling sauce for the winter).  

There are certain items one should pick up at the market regardless of your shopping list or menu plans. Our policy is to purchase padron peppers whenever available because they are always a special treat. Similar logic applies to Camas Swale's perfect melons, which don't require a recipe, beyond "eat." Less intuitive might be a bunch of scallions, although pretty purple ones like these are hard to resist.

Lately I've been making a habit of buying a big bunch of scallions and immediately cooking them down in oil into a couple of tablespoons of crisp, sweet, intense flavor. We first tasted these in Shanghai and then recaptured them with the help of Fuchsia Dunlop. It doesn't matter if you have a plan for these at the time, you will simply thank yourself later for having made them. This week we gobbled them up right away as a topping for some soba noodles along with some seared padron peppers, which are essentially the same as shishito peppers so I'm calling them by their Asian name for this dish. 

Soba Noodles with Seared Scallions and Shishito Peppers

serves four

seared scallions
1 large or 2 small bunched of scallions
1/4 cup neutral oil such as canola
Trim the roots off the scallions. Wack the whites with the side of a large chef's knife to split. Cut into 1 inch lengths. Heat the oil in a skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring frequently. Keep cooking the scallions until they are quite browned, but avoid burning them. This will take patience and some nerve, but you will be rewarded with intense flavor. Transfer the scallions and oil to a small bowl.

seared peppers
1 pint padron or shishito peppers
2 Tbsp neutral oil such as canola
sea salt
In the same skillet or wok you used for the scallions, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the peppers and allow to sear until well browned and blistered on one side. Use tongs to flip and brown the second side. Remove to a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

noodles
300 g (3 circular packets) of soba noodles
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Cook the noodles in salted boiling water until barely cooked through (about 5 minutes). In the meantime, mix the soy sauce and sesame oil in a serving bowl. When the noodles are done, immediately rinse them under cold water and then toss them in the serving bowl. Serve the noodles and top with the seared scallions and scallion oil and the seared peppers. Enjoy.

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Pizza

The fall harvest is in full swing at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, including these beautiful speckled eggplants from Camas Swale Farm.

With the temperatures dropping, turning on the oven for pizza was appealing, and once I had it preheating, I thought I'd roast some toppings ahead.

Roasting the eggplant cubes gave them a wonderful caramelized exterior, while making them meltingly soft and creamy inside. They paired perfectly with melting chunks of feta and crunchy slices of pimento pepper. I can recommend this combination as a delicious harvest pizza pie.

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Pizza

1 recipe of Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough (enough for four individual pizzas)
tomato sauce (preferably made with fresh rooms)
1 small eggplant per pizza
1 sweet red pepper per pizza
1/2 cup cubed feta cheese per pizza
fresh basil leaves for garnish

1. Prepare the pizza dough the evening before, according to Lahey's instructions. Combine 500 g flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon yeast, and 1 1/2 cups (350 g) water, and mix briefly in an electric mixer or by hand until combined into a ball. Cover and let stand for about 18 hours.

2. Cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Toss the eggplant cubes with a sprinkle of kosher salt (about 1 teaspoon per eggplant) and leave in a colander to drain for about 15 minutes. Seed and slice the pepper. Cut the feta into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and insert a pizza stone if you are using one. 

4. Squeeze the eggplant cubes in a clean dishcloth to remove released moisture and toss the pieces with a generous drizzle of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Insert into the preheating oven and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through with a spatula, until the eggplant pieces are browned and soft. 

5. Meanwhile, divide the dough into four balls, flour them lightly, and shape them according to Lahey's instructions (or use a rolling pin to roll them out on a silicone mat). Sprinkle polenta on a baking sheet or pizza peel and place the pizza dough on top. If you like, you can prebake the crust for 5 minutes in the preheated oven to ensure an extra crispy pizza.

6. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the dough, distribute over the roasted eggplant pieces, the sliced red pepper, and then cubed feta.  Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the crust in browned and the cheese is bubbling. Top with fresh basil leaves and enjoy.

Padron Peppers and Paella

These days Camas Swale Farm has an impressive array of summer peppers, including these spicy padron peppers. A Spanish tapas specialty, also known as shishito peppers in Asian cuisine, they are famous for having variable levels of heat, making eating them a bit of  gamble. We had ours seared whole in olive oil with a sprinkle of sea salt, and they were all very spicy but with some reaching a scorching level of spiciness.

Seared Padron Pepper

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Coat the bottom with olive oil and then add the whole patron peppers. Sear the peppers, rotating them with tongs, until they are charred and blistered. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with a word of caution.

Seared patrons work well as an accompaniment to a fragrant pan of Spanish paella. Paella is a big, celebratory dish, but it can be quite simple if you plan ahead and make it the day after a grilled meal. Then you can grill extra tomatoes, peppers, and onions for a saucy base for the rice and extra sausage to nestle in among the shellfish. We made a big pan at the coast recently. I remembered to pack a box of Arborio rice, saffron, and a frozen pint of crab stock. We didn't have sausages or peas, but incorporated some bacon and grilled zucchini for a similar effect. If you don't have specific expectations, it can be a very forgiving dish to feed a crowd.

Paella

serves 6 to 8 

use this as a guide and tailor to your tastes and available ingredients

3 cups (500 g) Arborio or other short grain rice 
olive oil
1 large onion seared and chopped
4 large or 8 roma tomatoes, seared and chopped to make about 2 cups
4 peppers, sweet and mildly spicy, seared, seeded, and chopped
4 cups stock, preferably homemade from crab or shrimp shells, but could use chicken
4 sausages such as spicy chorizo, grilled and cut into  half-moon slices
2 pounds shellfish such as clams or mussels
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 large pinch saffron
red pepper to taste
salt to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

1. If you plan ahead, you could grill the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and sausages a day ahead. Or you could broil them before starting the rice, making sure they are nicely charred. Also ahead of time, desand the clams and debeard the mussels if necessary.

2. Choose a large, wide pan such as a paella pan that will hold all of the ingredients. Heat over medium heat and when the pan is hot, add a generous drizzle of olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the chopped onions and sauté to soften for a few minutes. Add the rice and sauté to coat with oil and toast a bit. When the rice kernels become more whitish, add the chopped tomatoes, peppers, stock, and saffron. Stir and then distribute the sausage slices over the rice. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat to medium low, sample some of the rice broth and add salt and red pepper to taste. Allow the rice to simmer for about 20 minutes. Refrain from stirring if want to create a bottom crust or socarrat. Keep an eye on the liquid level and add drizzles of boiling water if it looks like it is getting too dry.

3. After 20 minutes of simmering, the rice should be partially cooked but still hard in the center, and the liquid level in the pan should be a little more soupy than you want the final dish. Now add the shellfish, nestling them into the rice with their hinge sides down. Cover the pan and let steam 5 minutes. Uncover and check on the shellfish, which should be mostly opened. Sprinkle over the peas, add a little more water if needed, recover, and steam for another 3 minutes. Uncover and taste the rice. It should taste firm and just a little undercooked (it will keep cooking off the heat). Add salt and pepper and cook a few more minutes if needed. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and serve.

Roasted Pepper and Onion Toasts

Sweet peppers and onions don't get much prettier than these varieties from Camas Swale Farm at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market.

These long, red specimens seemed made for each other. My son has recently discovered that roasted red peppers are basically parent sanctioned candy, so they've been making a regular appearance at our dinner table.

A handy tool for deseeding and deveining these narrow peppers is one that might just be lurking in your cutlery drawer, threatening sleepy cereal eaters: the grapefruit spoon.

I roasted them together in the toaster oven (too hot to turn on the real oven these days) with a lot of olive oil and a few sprigs of marjoram.

We ate the resulting caramelized goodness simply piled on slices of toasted baguette. On a hot day, these toasts plus some cold gazpacho makes a perfect dinner.

Roasted Pepper and Onion Toasts

4-8 sweet peppers
1-2 onions
olive oil
salt
several springs of marjoram or thyme
sliced bread

Seed and slice the peppers into 1 inch strips. Peel and slice the onions into eighths. Preheat a toaster oven to 450 degrees. Toss the vegetables in several slugs of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast in a toasting oven pan with the sprigs of herbs, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes, until caramelized and slightly charred. Transfer the caramelized vegetables to a bowl. Rub the bread slices in the remaining oil in the pan, flip and drizzle on a little more olive oil if desired. Toast until lightly brown on the edges. Pile the caramelized peppers and onions onto the toast and serve.

Beet Green and Wheat Berry Bowl

One of the nicest things about really fresh farm vegetables is that when you buy a bunch of root vegetables like beets or turnips, you get a bundle of fresh greens in the bargain. So when you visit the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market this Sunday morning, be sure to buy a bunch of Camas Swale Farm root vegetables and then rush home and make yourself a bowl of sautéed greens for lunch. 

I made this bowl with wheat berries that I'd cooked ahead in my trusty rice cooker. For many years I had held out on getting a rice cooker as an unnecessary kitchen gadget, but I've discovered that it's immensely handy for cooking all sorts of whole grains without any babysitting. You can set it up before leaving for work in the morning or taking a stroll to the farmers market, and return to a perfectly cooked pot of grains. For these I sautéed the beet greens with a couple of scallions and a sweet pepper, along with splashes of soy sauce and mirin, and topped it off with a fried egg for a delicious post market lunch.

Beet Green and Wheat Berry Bowls

serves two

1 bunch beet greens
2 large scallions or a shallot
1 small sweet pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp mirin or rice wine
1 cup cooked wheat berries or another hearty grain
salt to taste
2 eggs
hot sauce such as Sriracha for serving

1. Ahead of time, cook the wheat berries in a rice cooker or on the stove top.

2. Rinse and chop the beet greens into 1 inch strips. Dice the scallions and pepper. 

3. Warm a skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and then the scallions and peppers and cook for a few minutes until glassy. Add the beet greens and saute for about three minutes until they have started to soften. Add the cooked wheat berries and stir to warm and coat in the oil. Add the soy sauce and mirin and allow to cook down. Taste and add salt as needed. Remove from the heat.

4. While the greens are cooking, heat a small skillet on another burner. Add a drizzle of olive oil and then crack in two eggs. Cook over medium low heat until the yokes are the desired firmness.

5. Divide the beet greens and wheat berries into two bowls. Top each with a fried egg and serve with a hot sauce like Sriracha. Enjoy.

Salt Crusted Potatoes and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

The Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market will be back at its regular location this Sunday in the Sun Automotive lot on the corner of Agate Street and 19th Avenue. Last week's colorful selection of sweet peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos from Camas Swale Farm was perfect for a fajita feast.

Also tucked under the table was a lovely selection of freshly harvested potatoes, which inspired me to try this salt crusted potato recipe from food52's Genius Recipes.

These are simmered in a shallow pan with plenty of salt until all the water cooks away, leaving tender, salt-coated tubers that are a tasty alternative to chips for dipping in salsa. 

For these potatoes, I made my favorite roasted tomatillo salsa from Rick Bayless. Meanwhile, my husband seared up some Camas Swale Farm peppers and onions and some marinated skirt steak from Fair Valley Farm for fajitas, and we had veritable feast.

Salt Crusted Potatoes

from José Pizarro’s Spanish Flavors, via food52 Genius Recipes 

2 1/4 pounds evenly sized waxy new potatoes, such as fingerling, scrubbed but unpeeled
2 Tbsp sea salt
1 quart cold water

Put the potatoes into a wide, shallow pan in which they fit in a single layer. Add 2 tablespoons salt and 1 quart cold water (just enough to cover), bring to a boil, and leave to boil rapidly until the water has evaporated. Test one of the largest potatoes with the tip of a paring knife, and if it’s still hard, add a little more water to the pan and cook off. Once the water is evaporated and the potatoes are cooked through, turn the heat to low and continue to cook for a few minutes, gently turning the potatoes over occasionally, until they are dry and the skins are wrinkled and covered in a thin crust of salt.

Pile the hot potatoes onto a plate and serve with the tomatillo salsa, instructing your guests to rub off as much salt from the potatoes as they wish before dipping them in the sauce.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

adapted from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

8-10 tomatillos
1-2 cloves garlic
1 chipotle chile in adobe sauce 
salt

To roast the tomatillos, you will want to use a cast iron or nonstick skillet, or to avoid a messy cleanup, you can line a regular skillet with foil. Heat the skillet over medium high heat, and place in the unpeeled garlic cloves. Meanwhile, remove the husks from the tomatillos, rinse them, and cut them in half. Turn the garlic cloves and cook until they are charred on both sides. Remove from the pan, and when cooled enough to handle, remove the peels. Place the tomatillo halves into the hot pan, cut side down, and allow to cook until they are well charred and start to soften and collapse, turning more yellow. Flip them over and cook them for a few minutes on the other side. Transfer the charred tomatillos, including all the charred bits from the bottom of the pan, and the garlic, to a blender jar (or a quart sized mason jar on which you can fit the blender blade and base). Add the chipotle pepper in adobe sauce and a generous pinch of salt (you can freeze the remaining chiles from the can on a saran wrap-lined baking sheet, each with a dollop of adobe sauce, and then transfer to a freezer bag when hardened). Blend all the salsa ingredients until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. You could mix in chopped cilantro and diced white onions if you like. Serve with the potatoes and use the remaining salas over tacos, with chips, or thinned with stock for an enchilada sauce.