New veggies at the market & how to use them

With September swiftly approaching, the vegetables you might see at the farmer’s market are starting to look a little different. Cucumbers, zucchini, and basil are going out of season while colorful peppers, leeks, and fall greens begin to come into season.

With some new veggies on the market table, we wanted to take a second to introduce a few that are a little uncommon but oh so delicious.

Shishitos

Shishito peppers are a lovely Japanese heirloom pepper. Overall, they are a very mild pepper but they say one out of 10 is a little spicy! I find that the spicy ones are less hot than a jalapeno.

We love Shishitos because, at the end of a busy work day, they are SO QUICK to prepare!

Hands down, the best way to eat them is “blistered” in a pan. Just toss in oil and throw in a pan. We like to lightly salt them and eat them on their own while they’re hot—no dips necessary!

On Wednesday after the farmer’s market, I came home and tossed a pint of shishitos in a pan for the perfect little snack to eat while we finished cooking the rest of our meal.

We recently got flaky finishing salt as a gift from a super sweet CSA member and fellow shishito fan (she and her husband literally count them stems to make sure they both got to eat half—nice trick!) and it makes the dish even better.

For more details on how to blister shishitos, check out this recipe.

Hakurei turnips

We had them in the spring and they aren’t back just yet, but they’ll be here before we know it! Hakurei turnips are a white “salad turnip” which means they are sweet and perfect to eat raw or cooked. There’s no need to peel these turnips—just wash and use. 

When I first tried Hakurei turnips raw in the field at my first farm job, I probably had never had a turnip before. I was so surprised at how sweet these ones were! I would describe them as sweet and crisp like kohlrabi (but way easier to prep) with a little bit of mild radish flavor. 

Bonus: You can totally use the turnip greens. We like them cooked or braised into different recipes.

Tomatillos

The variety of tomatillo that we’re growing this year is Purple de Milpa. This heirloom variety grows wild in Mexican cornfields. Its fruits are small (around 3/4″ in diameter) unlike “normal” tomatillos which are 1-2″. So you will need to use a few more of them than your recipe calls for.

Here’s a recipe we’ve found that is so simple! Just husk the tomatillos and sauté them in a pan with garlic, jalapeños, and onions. Then blend with cilantro in your blender or food processor.

Last week, we made salsa verde with one pint of tomatillos, a quarter of an onion, a whole de-seeded jalapeno, half a clove of garlic (locally grown garlic cloves are just so big it can be easy to accidentally overpower your salsas) with a quarter of a bunch of cilantro and some salt and lime juice added to taste.