When I bought our food primarily at grocery stores, I planned meals before I went shopping. I could find almost any foods I wanted at one of the several groceries within a mile of our house, and I would sometimes shop at more than one to find the raw ingredients for the recipes I’d chosen.
These days, I rarely plan meals. Instead, I wander through the farmers’ market(s) each week, letting my senses guide me to the freshest vegetables, most fragrant fruits, most luscious - or stinkiest - cheeses. Finding produce newly in season, or a producer new to me, is often the starting point for our meals.
At the Ballard farmers’ market last Sunday, the plump English pea pods from Anselmo’s spoke to me. I picked up a couple of pounds, but had no particular plans for them until I heard a couple walking ahead of me raving about the gnocchi they’d bought from diVino’s the week before. I’m quite fond of those little potato dumplings, but I hadn’t noticed them at the market. (I don’t buy pasta often, so I hadn’t really been looking.) When I heard the folks ahead of me discussing gnocchi, I knew what we’d have for dinner that night: gnocchi with English peas in sage butter.
Shell some English peas. You’ll want 1/2 and 3/4 cup. Coarsely chop 6-8 sage leaves.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When water is close to boiling, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter begins to brown, swirling pan occasionally. Add the chopped sage to the butter. (It will foam up.) Add peas, cook for about a minute (or a little more if you prefer your peas well done), then remove from heat. Grind in black pepper to taste.
Add gnocchi (about 12 ounces) to boiling water; cook until they float to the surface of the water, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain gnocchi. Return butter-sage-peas to low heat. Add gnocchi, and toss to coat with butter.
Serves 2.
Gnocchi: diVino’s, Seattle, WA (I don’t know where diVino’s buys their potatoes, flour and eggs, but they make their pasta in Seattle. Perhaps next time I get a yen for gnocchi I’ll try making my own, with ingredients of known provenance.)
English peas: Anselmo’s Organic Farms, Snohomish, WA
Butter: made from cream from Golden Glen Creamery, Bow, WA
Sage: just outside our kitchen door
If you want to see the yummy local meals that folks around the country are cooking for One Local Summer, visit Farm to Philly’s regional roundups.
Tags: Eat Local · gnocchi · One Local Summer · Seattle1 Comment
1 response so far ↓
I think your farmer’s market habit has gone too far when the produce starts speaking to you. On the other hand, that sure looks tasty.