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More Cuisine

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PBS recently carried a program about farmers’ markets which started me thinking about how many I’ve visited here and abroad. I always love the museums and cathedrals and other tourist attractions, but high on my list is the local market.

Such places have fascinated me since I was a girl in Southern California, when we used to take visitors to the sprawling site at 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles. The place does not offer only food — they sell clothes and jewelry and toys and there are several restaurants. You can also buy foods from foreign lands at small booths and sit at tables under umbrellas to enjoy them.

When we lived for many years in Connecticut, we often visited the farmers’ market near Brainard Airport in downtown Hartford, but it was a commercial venture which sold to the trade. They let us in, but we had to buy in rather large quantities. They had meats, fish, produce and other foods, and we loved going with friends to stock up on things we could share. It had no glamour — it was housed in old warehouses with heavy plastic curtains to keep the temperature controlled, and there were no shops and restaurants.

I’ve investigated many such places in Europe where they originated. The one in Istanbul is located in a former railroad terminal, a huge, echoing space with nothing but produce. I was taken on a tour by a polite young man who shyly tried out his English on me. I encountered many fruits and vegetables I had never seen.

Many English towns have weekly market days, some even more often. The array of fresh garden products belies the bad reputation the British have earned for cooking. The materials are certainly there for the taking, as well as all sorts of wonderful baked goods and meats. We found their sausages equaled only by the selections in German markets.

The one time we encountered an outdoor market in France was a disappointment — the items were mostly tourist junk and there was very little food on sale. Perhaps the larger cities do better, but they will have to wait for another visit.

One of the most unusual such places is on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Housed in a large concrete building, it’s open daily and offers everything you could want for Spanish cooking. One particular item catches the eye as you enter: a pig’s face trimmed to hang on the wall facing the door. These are for sale at most meat counters, but I never found out what cooks do with them.

Marco island has enjoyed a weekly outdoor market for two seasons now, and we hope it will return. It’s held to support the farm community of Immokalee for the most part, and the fresh produce is wonderful. There are also things like bakery goods, jams and jellies, sauces and cheeses.

Also in season is a small and charming market on 3rd Street in Naples on Saturday mornings, often notable for the presence of a live goat or turkey, pets of a vendor there. It’s a lot like the offerings on Marco and another good place to take visitors before going out to lunch. Naples also offers a weekly outdoor market on David Boulevard in season, with many kitchen and cooking items besides fresh produce.

So what would you buy if you visited one of these markets? Tomatoes come to mind, and fresh peppers, perhaps because of all that color appeal. Here are some of my favorite recipes which use both.

Mediterranean sauce for fish

One of our family favorites is used to coat fish before baking or broiling in the oven, and it couldn’t be easier. This amount will coat two medium fillets and serves four.

1 medium onion, chopped

½ large green pepper, chopped

1 minced clove garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small can tomato sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Accent (optional)

Fresh chopped basil and parsley to taste

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Fish fillets — any good white fish will do

Brown onion, green pepper and garlic in oil in a skillet. When vegetables are golden, add tomato sauce and reduce the heat. Season with salt, pepper and Accent. Cook for a few minutes and add vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in chopped basil and parsley and allow sauce to continue cooking until it reduces and thickened.

Place fish in a well-oiled or sprayed oven dish and coat them with the sauce. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness — broiling should take a little less time.

Tomato chop

In our house, this name is given to a dish which is a great deal like a Mediterranean salad. The directions are very general, as we never had a real recipe for this; it evolved over the years. These portions will serve four as a salad.

2 large fresh tomatoes

1 small chopped onion

1 small chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped

1/2 cup black olives

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Core and chop tomatoes (peeled or not as you wish) and place in a large bowl. Add to this the onion, green peppers, cucumber, carrot, celery, black olives, and finely minced fresh mint leaves and snipped parsley.

Make or purchase a simple dressing of olive oil with half as much wine vinegar, seasoned with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Stir into the vegetables and blend them well. Cover bowl and chill overnight. It’s a marvelous dish to use for a breakfast buffet, or any other time of day for that matter.

Quick trick

If you have a tomato going soft, peel it or not as you choose, but remove core and any bad spots. Whirl in the blender with salt, pepper and whatever you fancy — a little onion, garlic, basil, parsley — then pour into a small plastic dish with cover and freeze it.

Use as tomato sauce in your next recipe.

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Marion Nicolay is a regular contributor to the Marco Eagle. Contact her via e-mail at marion387@earthlink.net.