National Farmers’ Market Week runs from the 4th-10th August 2024 so in this column, I joyously celebrate the Farmers’ Markets and the heroic producers who harvest their home grown produce, hail rain or shine, then pack up and set off at the crack of dawn on market day. They set up their stalls to sell to their local community, tourists and holiday makers who long to get a glimpse of what’s in season in the area, a taste of that place.
It’s 28 years now since Myrtle Allen and I first packed up the rusty old Renault van and headed off for the Coal Quay on Cornmarket Street in Cork to set up what was to be the first Farmers’ Market in Ireland.
Caroline Robinson who still sells her beautiful homegrown chemical-free, seasonal vegetables set up beside us as did Frank Hederman from Belvelly Smokehouse near Cobh, now trading in the English Market throughout the week as well as Mahon Point Farmers’ Market on Thursday and Midleton on Saturday.
Declan Ryan was also there with his sourdough bread which at that stage was baked in his converted garage. Declan and his wife Patsy have recently retired and passed on his hugely successful business to Bretzel Bakery who will continue to use his recipes and uphold the artisan baking tradition.
Clodagh McKenna also started her very successful career on a stall in the Coal Quay and went on to write several best-selling cookbooks and present many successful TV series before marrying Harry Herbert of Highclere in the UK where she continues to grow and teach classes.
Jill Bell sold her delicious homemade cakes. She too went on to establish the much loved Well and Good Health Food Shop in Midleton and on and on…
Klaus and Hannah Balz sold beautiful bunches of fresh flowers from their garden. Over 27 years later, Klaus continues to sell plants and flowers on the Coal Quay each Saturday, how wonderful is that. All were members of the important Cork Free Choice Consumer Group established by Myrtle Allen and Caroline Robinson in 1989.
I’d first come across the Farmers’ Market concept in San Francisco in 1995 when a friend introduced me to the newly established Farmers’ Market, in a parking lot in the Bay Area of town.
At that stage, in this country, setting up a market stall on the side of the street was not cool. Here in Ireland the supermarkets, already well established, were going over to the central distribution system and some were penalising their local shops if they bought more than 2% of their produce locally.
Consequently, small local potato and vegetable growers particularly were unable to sell their products to local shops and local people were no longer able to source their food locally.
Myrtle Allen and I became intensely concerned about the situation. Seeing this new age Farmers’ Market in San Francisco with stalls piled high with beautiful fresh produce, fresh flowers, home baked pastries and cakes, farmstead cheese, organic plump organic chickens was a eureka moment. Suddenly a lightbulb went on – I realised that if we could re-establish the market system in Ireland, local people could buy local food from local farmers and food producers who would be delighted to get paid a fair price directly so they could continue to work on the land that they love.
Midleton Farmers’ Market in 2000 was probably the next to be established, Mahon Point and Douglas not long afterwards.
Now I read that there are 160 plus Farmers’ Markets scattered around the country.
How fortunate are people who have a good Farmers’ Market close by. Sadly, they are not all as bustling and vibrant as Skibbereen for example. Sometimes folk tell me that the farmers’ markets are too expensive, usually people who never actually shop in them.
In Midleton recently, I bought a bag of beautiful dessert apples from The Little Irish Apple company, seven perfect apples for €2, how about that for value?
Many farmers tell me that they would not no longer be on the land if it wasn’t for the Farmers’ Market movement. Remember farmers are fortunate if they get paid a third of the price on the supermarket shelf and are super lucky if they’re paid within a month.
The people who feed us are now ‘price takers’ not ‘price makers’.
We need to wake up…so if you can, go along and support your local Farmers’ Market and bring home a basket full of beautiful fresh produce to nourish yourself and your family. Why not pay the farmer to keep you well, rather than spend your money on pills and supplements – our food can be our medicine!
This is the most bountiful time of the year for fresh produce, try these recipes for ratatouille, roast onions and almond tart with strawberries.
Let’s give thanks for the bounty of nature and don’t forget a hug for the farmer, they’ve had a rotten year with unprecedented weather challenges and more often than not, below cost prices for their produce…another reason to support farmers’ markets.
Ratatouille Nicoise ( Mediterranean Vegetable Stew)
Ratatouille, perhaps the most famous Mediterranean vegetable stew of all, can be a horrible, overcooked mess… Unless you stand over the pot., it’s super easy to overcook it by the classic method so I have been following Roger Verge’s example by cooking the aubergines and courgettes separately and adding them in at the end with far better results.
Serves 8-10
450g medium sized aubergines
450g courgettes (zucchini), not more than 15cm long
olive oil
2 red peppers, cut into quarters and cut into 2.5cm squares
1 green pepper, cut into quarters and cut into 2.5cm squares
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
2 large onions, sliced 350g
450g very ripe tomatoes or 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes
salt and freshly ground pepper
½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil or annual marjoram
Slice the unpeeled aubergines and courgettes into 1cm rounds, sprinkle with a little salt and put into a colander. Leave for an hour to drain, then wash and dry with kitchen paper. Heat a grill pan, toss the aubergines and courgettes lightly in olive oil. Cook in a single layer until golden brown on each side, adding a little more olive oil if necessary and drain on a wire rack over an oven tray.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide casserole, add the sliced onions and crushed garlic, cover and sweat on a gentle heat for about 5 minutes. As they begin to soften add the peppers, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and slice the tomatoes, add to the peppers and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer without covering the pan until the vegetables are just cooked, about 6-8 minutes. Then add the aubergines and courgettes with the crushed coriander. Stir gently, add the basil or marjoram. Taste and correct seasoning.
Note: Ratatouille Nicoise can be served hot or cold.
Variations
Ratatouille with Olives
Add 110g whole black olives to the ratatouille about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Ratatouille with Poached Eggs
Heat 2 generous tablespoons of ratatouille per person, make a nest on a hot plate for each person and drop a poached egg into the centre – a perfect supper dish.
Roast Onions
So utterly simple and delicious. Roast onions were one of the big hits in my book ‘Simply Delicious Food for Family and Friends’. Eat them on their own, serve them with Marjoram Butter or as an accompaniment to a juicy steak or lots of other good things.
Choose small, medium or large sized onions. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Cook the unpeeled onions on a baking tray until soft, this can take anything from 10 minutes to an hour depending on size. Serve in their jackets.
To eat, cut off the root end, squeeze out the onion if they are tiny,
enjoy with marjoram or garlic butter and sea salt. Larger onions are best
split in half.
Variations
Roast Onions Halves
Cut the unpeeled onions in half from top to bottom. Drizzle the cut side of the onion halves with a little olive oil and arrange in a roasting tray cut side down. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in a preheated oven 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for 20-40 minutes depending on size. The onions should be perfectly tender and the cut side nicely caramelised.
Seared Onions
Cut the onion in half lengthwise (do not remove the skin). Drizzle with olive oil. Place flesh side down on a hot pan-grill and cook until charred and caramelised – the flesh should be soft. Serve immediately.
Roast Onions with Marjoram Butter
Roast the onions as above, serve with a blob of Marjoram Butter (see recipe) melting in the centre so exquisite that you won’t want anything else for supper.
Garlic Butter
50g butter
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
Cream the butter, stir in the parsley and add the crushed garlic. Roll into butter pats or form into a roll and wrap in parchment paper, screwing each end so it looks like a cracker. Refrigerate to harden. Cut into slices to serve.
Marjoram Butter
Add 1 tablespoon chopped annual marjoram to 50g butter.
Almond Tart with Strawberries
Ruth Rodgers and the late Rose Gray of the River Café demonstrated this gorgeous moist tart when they were guest chefs here some years ago.
Serves 10-12
Pastry
225g flour
25g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
110g unsalted butter
1 egg
Almond Filling
285g soft butter unsalted
225g caster sugar
285g whole almonds
3 eggs
1 dsp Amaretto or Rum
1 tbsp of flour (optional)
a generous pinch of salt (essential the enhance the flavour of the frangipane)
450g fresh strawberries or a mixture of strawberries and raspberries
Garnish
little sprigs of fresh mint
1 x 28cm x 3.5cm tart tin with ‘pop-up’ base
First make the pastry.
Sieve the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and then rub in with your fingertips. Keep everything as cool as possible; if the fat is allowed to melt, the finished pastry may be tough. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, stop.
Whisk the egg. Using a fork to stir, add just enough liquid to bring the pastry together, then discard the fork and collect it into a ball with your hands, this way you can judge more accurately if you need a few more drops of liquid. Although rather damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape as the water evaporates in the oven. The drier and more difficult-to-handle pastry will give a crisper, shorter crust.
Flatten into a round, cover the pastry and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will make the pastry much less elastic and easier to roll.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Line the flan ring and bake blind for 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile make the almond filling.
Blanch the almonds in boiling water, remove the skins and grind in a liquidiser or food processor.
Cream the butter with the sugar until soft and fluffy, beat in the eggs one by one, then stir in the freshly ground almonds, flour, salt and amaretto if available. Pour into the pastry case, reduce the temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3, and bake for 45-60 minutes.
Remove from the tin onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
Just before serving, if the strawberries are too large cut in half or quarters and cover the surface of the tart. Use whole raspberries if using. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Tuck some little sprigs of fresh mint here and there between the strawberries and/or raspberries if using.
