To be filed under “Problem identified, solution needed”: Farmers-market bottlenecks.
I love farmers markets, and don’t want to live in a world without them. And I’m all for something I call the Farmers Market Experience — the joy of languorously wandering among the stalls and marveling over the shapes and hues of technicolor produce, tasting local honey samples and scoring Swiss chard recipes from the person who actually grew the stuff.
But.
Come a typical Saturday, I don’t have a lot of linger time on my hands. There are errands to run and shirts to iron and work to accomplish and grandmothers to telephone. I want to get in, get my eggs, greens, radishes and potatoes and get out.
The obstacles are many: phalanxes of oversized baby SUV’s parked in front of the windchime stall, slow-moving see-and- be-seen foodies who feel the need to assault every single tomato in the display, clipboard-wielders looking for donations to one potentially worthwhile organization or another. These can really slow down the progression from produce to eggs to exit. What would take no time at the supermarket can turn into a 90-minute frustration fest.
For better or worse, some food shoppers are in a hurry, but just because they’re rushed doesn’t mean they don’t want to buy fresh ingredients from local producers. I bet that if these time-pressed foragers (like me) could get in and out of a farmers market in a few minutes, receipts would go up.
We’ve made farmers markets ubiquitous (over 100 in Colorado this year); now let’s make them efficient. A collective express line, perhaps?
Now, what to do with that chard:
Farmers Market Strata with Swiss Chard
You can buy everything you need for this dish at your farmers market. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
1 pound fresh sausage or chorizo, spicy if preferred
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and leaves separated
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 small loaf country bread, crusts removed, sliced (day-old is fine)
2 cups shredded cheese
6 eggs
1/2 pint fresh whole milk or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon salt
A few grinds of black pepper
Directions
Saute sausage over medium heat until brown; remove. Chop chard stems into 1/2-inch pieces; saute with sliced onion in the sausage juices until soft. Add chard leaves and cook until wilted.
In a 9 x 12-inch baking dish, lay bread slices in single layer on bottom. Top with half the sausage, half the chard mixture, and half the cheese. Repeat layering, ending with cheese.
Beat together eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Pour over layers in baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Remove strata from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 and bake until set, about 45 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
