The aptly-named Delicata squash was introduced in1894 but didn't become popular until the 1920s. It's the oblong squash with yellow and ivory mottled skin and spruce-green stripes.
Its butter-yellow flesh and pulp hint at corn, butternut squash and sweet potato. To coax the most flavor out of delicata squash, bake it. Steaming also works well with this thin-skinned squash which most of our produce vendors are harvesting right now. The skin, by the way, is edible.
Here are two distinct recipes featuring delicata, sometimes called "designer' squash: delicata squash agrodolce and delicata squash pasta carbonara.
I was in Boston this weekend visiting my freshman daughter so, of course, indulged in some local seafood and chowdah.
It reminded me that it's time to start making my favorite Basque fish stew again: marmitako. In Basque, marmitako translates, roughly, to “from the pot.” This rustic soup was made popular by tuna fishermen who would make it on their boats, during long fishing routes, because the ingredients were easy to have at hand. If you decide to make this soup, make sure you add the tuna at the very end of cooking, literally as the soup is removed from the heat, so it stays moist and tender. Serve the stew with a chunk of Wave Hill's Miche bread and an escarole salad and thank me in the morning.
Hudson Valley Fisheries is back with their smoked trout fillets that are so delicious on bagels, yes, but also on a cloud of McGrath's queso fresco cheese on a stretch of Bien Cuit baguette. In this scenario, McGrath Cheese Co. also recommends a drizzle of unctuous honey as an alternative to salmon.
Selek is back after a hiatus due to kitchen logistics problems. He was sorry to miss a market and is looking forward to seeing all of regular customers this week who have become addicted to his baked falafel, herbaceous salads and a coconut milk pudding with pomegranate syrup and pistachios known as Malabi.
As part of their Cultural Food Showcase, CRE brings Cravin' Jamaican as a guest vendor to the market this week. This Ossining eatery gets rave reviews for its Jerk chicken or shrimp, curry dishes and callalloo.
So grab a Dough Nation pizza for lunch and pick up some Jamaican grub for dinner, and do your home cooking on Sunday!
FYI: The New Castle Police Department will be setting up a tent next to the CRE tent at the entrance of the market each week to answer questions from the community. Take advantage!
See you at the market!