my first adventure at the union square farmer's market (recipes included)
So, this past weekend, for the first time, I decided to visit the Union Square farmer's market. I know about this market and I have been there a few times, however, this visit was different. This past May I moved to Manhattan to study. I am currently enrolled in a post-bac pre-medical course, but that's a whole 'nother story.
Anyway, the one thing I hated about my past visits to this magnificent market was the fact that all of the produce, breads, drinks, proteins, etc... sold here looked AMAZING, however, as I was not a resident of Manhattan, I had no kitchen, and shlepping goodies home was a pain in the butt. It was like torture. You take a kid into a toy store, tempt them with toys, and then snatch them away --- right in front of them. That's how I always felt.
This past weekend though --- this would be different. I live about 5 minutes away from Union Square, walking, so I was a girl on a mission. I was going to go to the market, but lots of fantastic stuff, and cook the best gourmet mouth-watering meal I could!
One thing I love about Manhattan: the diversity of people. I don't just mean ethnicity, but personality. The way people dress, the things they carry, the types of foods they look for. It's so fascinating and the market did not disappoint. Union Square, was overtaken by a sea of food/produce vendors and a siege of eager customers! There were so many people that I quickly developed agile people weaving/dodging abilities.
Before purchasing anything, I made it a point to circle the market and examine what was for sale. I wanted to compare price (of course), but also quality. What fun! Hopping from stand to stand, tasting "the goods," all whilst my mind raced with endless recipe possibilities.
After about 30 minutes of simple observation, my mind was made up and I knew what I wanted...
And here, the moment of truth. I share with you my recipes from my first gourmet meal, all of which was derived from locally produced products!
- salt
- pepper
- oven safe frying pan
1. Preheat your oven to about 400F.
2. Take your duck breast and lightly score the fat. You don't want to cut too hard that you hit the meat of the breast, so just score lightly. This helps get rid of fat, but it also make the skin look really nice when it is cooked and crispy.
3. Season your duck breast with salt and pepper. I didn't actually measure, so I'd say follow your instincts. If you want to be extra decadent, you can do what I did and use "truffle" salt instead of regular salt. The aroma with BLOW YOU AWAY!
4. To cook the duck, place the beast, skin side down in an UNOILED COLD PAN. This is critical. DO NOT PUT ANY COOKING OIL OR SPRAY OF ANY KIND IN THE PAN. Also, DO NOT PREHEAT THE PAN. The reason for this is that you want to cook the fat off, not sear it. If you just add the breast to a hot pan, the fat will cook instantly, thus retaining its moisture, and making it difficult to cook crispy. I know this sounds weird, but trust me, it works!
5. Let the pan gradually heat up and let most of the fat cook down. Once the fat is browned and mostly reduced sear the sides of the duck.
6. Once you have seared the duck, taking your pan, and let the duck cook in the oven for 6 -8 minutes. (I let mine cook for about 8 minutes.) If you are using a pan with a plastic handle, transfer the duck to a roasting pan, but make sure you transfer the fat too!
7. After the 6-8 minutes, take the duck out of the oven. Carefully poke the center of the meat. There should be a bit of bounce. This means that your duck is a bit pink on the inside.
8. Let the duck rest for a few minutes. Like meat, you have to let the duck rest. If you cut it while it's piping hot, you loose all of its goodness. Cut into thick(ish) slices and serve.
- 3 golden beets, peeled and sliced
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- herbes du provence
- 1/2 avocado
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
1. Preheat your toaster oven to 350F. Take a metal tray, big enough to fit in the toaster, and cover it with aluminum foil.
2. Clean and prep the beets. It might be a good idea to wear gloves, so the red beets don't stain you. I learned that lesson the hard way. Once the beets are sliced, arrange them on the foiled tray.
3. Sprinkle olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbes du provence (to taste.)
4. Let beets cook in the toaster for about 30 minutes, or until soft. Once the beets are done, remove them from the toaster and set aside to cool.
5. Once the beets are cooled, quarter them and place them in a bowl.
6. Take your avocado and slice it in half. Cube half of the avocado and add the the beets.
7. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top of the beets and avocado (to you liking.)
- soy sauce
- salt
- pepper
- cream sherry (optional)
1. Thinly slice the onion(s).
2. In a large pan, let the onions cook slowly on medium-low heat. You don't want the heat high because the onions won't soften nicely --- they'll just burn.
3. Let the onions cooks slowly so they soften --- at least 30 min. To speed things up, I put a lid on my pan and checked my onions every so often. You essentially want your onions to be so soft that they borderline disintegrate.
4. Once your onion are nice and soft, season to taste with soy sauce, salt, and pepper. If you have it, add a dash of creamy sherry. I do that at home, however, I didn't have any in my apartment. It still tastes delicious without the sherry.
- 1 container of grape tomatoes, washed
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- herbes du provence (optional)
1. Preheat toaster to 350F. (I let my beets and tomatoes roast together.)
2. Take a piece of aluminum foil and crumple it up in such a way that you make a small container for the tomatoes.
3. Place the tomatoes in a bowl. Mix in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and if you have it, herbes du provence. You don't have to go crazy with the seasoning, just enough to coat the tomatoes.
4. Transfer the tomatoes into the makeshift aluminum foil container. Close the top, but leave a tiny opening at the top.
5. Let the tomatoes cook in the toaster for about 30 - 45 minutes or until very soft. Once they are soft, you can take them out of the oven. You have two options. You can eat them hot, but because not to burn your tongue on the inner juices, or let them cool. Either way, they will be delicious!
Anyway, the one thing I hated about my past visits to this magnificent market was the fact that all of the produce, breads, drinks, proteins, etc... sold here looked AMAZING, however, as I was not a resident of Manhattan, I had no kitchen, and shlepping goodies home was a pain in the butt. It was like torture. You take a kid into a toy store, tempt them with toys, and then snatch them away --- right in front of them. That's how I always felt.
This past weekend though --- this would be different. I live about 5 minutes away from Union Square, walking, so I was a girl on a mission. I was going to go to the market, but lots of fantastic stuff, and cook the best gourmet mouth-watering meal I could!
One thing I love about Manhattan: the diversity of people. I don't just mean ethnicity, but personality. The way people dress, the things they carry, the types of foods they look for. It's so fascinating and the market did not disappoint. Union Square, was overtaken by a sea of food/produce vendors and a siege of eager customers! There were so many people that I quickly developed agile people weaving/dodging abilities.
Before purchasing anything, I made it a point to circle the market and examine what was for sale. I wanted to compare price (of course), but also quality. What fun! Hopping from stand to stand, tasting "the goods," all whilst my mind raced with endless recipe possibilities.
After about 30 minutes of simple observation, my mind was made up and I knew what I wanted...
And here, the moment of truth. I share with you my recipes from my first gourmet meal, all of which was derived from locally produced products!
 |
| Oven Roasted Duck Breast, Roasted Tomatoes, Carmalized Onions, and a Twin Beet/Avocado Salad! I'd estimate that I spent a total of $20 - $25 on the entire meal! (see recipes below) |
~~~~~
Oven-Roasted Duck Breast
(adapted from Gordon Ramsay):
- 1duck breast- salt
- pepper
- oven safe frying pan
1. Preheat your oven to about 400F.
2. Take your duck breast and lightly score the fat. You don't want to cut too hard that you hit the meat of the breast, so just score lightly. This helps get rid of fat, but it also make the skin look really nice when it is cooked and crispy.
3. Season your duck breast with salt and pepper. I didn't actually measure, so I'd say follow your instincts. If you want to be extra decadent, you can do what I did and use "truffle" salt instead of regular salt. The aroma with BLOW YOU AWAY!
4. To cook the duck, place the beast, skin side down in an UNOILED COLD PAN. This is critical. DO NOT PUT ANY COOKING OIL OR SPRAY OF ANY KIND IN THE PAN. Also, DO NOT PREHEAT THE PAN. The reason for this is that you want to cook the fat off, not sear it. If you just add the breast to a hot pan, the fat will cook instantly, thus retaining its moisture, and making it difficult to cook crispy. I know this sounds weird, but trust me, it works!
5. Let the pan gradually heat up and let most of the fat cook down. Once the fat is browned and mostly reduced sear the sides of the duck.
6. Once you have seared the duck, taking your pan, and let the duck cook in the oven for 6 -8 minutes. (I let mine cook for about 8 minutes.) If you are using a pan with a plastic handle, transfer the duck to a roasting pan, but make sure you transfer the fat too!
7. After the 6-8 minutes, take the duck out of the oven. Carefully poke the center of the meat. There should be a bit of bounce. This means that your duck is a bit pink on the inside.
8. Let the duck rest for a few minutes. Like meat, you have to let the duck rest. If you cut it while it's piping hot, you loose all of its goodness. Cut into thick(ish) slices and serve.
 |
| my scored duck breast |
 |
| duck breast in the pan skin down. the liquid you see is the fat from the breast |
 |
| duck breast, out of the oven, and resting |
~~~~~
Twin Beet -- golden and red -- and Avocado Salad with a Balsamic Vinegar/Olive Oil Dressing (inspired by Frankie 457)
- 3 red beets, peeled and sliced- 3 golden beets, peeled and sliced
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- herbes du provence
- 1/2 avocado
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
1. Preheat your toaster oven to 350F. Take a metal tray, big enough to fit in the toaster, and cover it with aluminum foil.
2. Clean and prep the beets. It might be a good idea to wear gloves, so the red beets don't stain you. I learned that lesson the hard way. Once the beets are sliced, arrange them on the foiled tray.
3. Sprinkle olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbes du provence (to taste.)
4. Let beets cook in the toaster for about 30 minutes, or until soft. Once the beets are done, remove them from the toaster and set aside to cool.
5. Once the beets are cooled, quarter them and place them in a bowl.
6. Take your avocado and slice it in half. Cube half of the avocado and add the the beets.
7. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top of the beets and avocado (to you liking.)
 |
| this is why you should wear gloves. i couldn't get the red off for hours! |
 |
| my prepared beets. i let them cook with the tomatoes. |
 |
| eh voila! the finished product. |
~~~~~
Caramelized Onions
- 1 large sweet onion (this really depends on how much you like cooked onions. remember, they do tend to shrink when cooked)- soy sauce
- salt
- pepper
- cream sherry (optional)
1. Thinly slice the onion(s).
2. In a large pan, let the onions cook slowly on medium-low heat. You don't want the heat high because the onions won't soften nicely --- they'll just burn.
3. Let the onions cooks slowly so they soften --- at least 30 min. To speed things up, I put a lid on my pan and checked my onions every so often. You essentially want your onions to be so soft that they borderline disintegrate.
4. Once your onion are nice and soft, season to taste with soy sauce, salt, and pepper. If you have it, add a dash of creamy sherry. I do that at home, however, I didn't have any in my apartment. It still tastes delicious without the sherry.
 |
| getting ready to cook my onions! |
~~~~~
Toaster-Roasted Grape Tomatoes
(This is one of my favorite recipes. I really don't like tomatoes, but cooking tomatoes like this, makes me irresistible! I can't stop eating them!)- 1 container of grape tomatoes, washed
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- herbes du provence (optional)
1. Preheat toaster to 350F. (I let my beets and tomatoes roast together.)
2. Take a piece of aluminum foil and crumple it up in such a way that you make a small container for the tomatoes.
3. Place the tomatoes in a bowl. Mix in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and if you have it, herbes du provence. You don't have to go crazy with the seasoning, just enough to coat the tomatoes.
4. Transfer the tomatoes into the makeshift aluminum foil container. Close the top, but leave a tiny opening at the top.
5. Let the tomatoes cook in the toaster for about 30 - 45 minutes or until very soft. Once they are soft, you can take them out of the oven. You have two options. You can eat them hot, but because not to burn your tongue on the inner juices, or let them cool. Either way, they will be delicious!
 |
| the onions, roasted tomatoes, and perfectly cooked duck breast |
Bon Appetite Everyone!
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