PEAK SEASON RECIPES
Original recipes from local chefs, farmers, and artisan food producers that utilize seasonal produce available at area farmers markets.
Click on the seasons below to jump directly to those recipes.
FIXIN’ TO COOK with Montavilla and Portland Farmers Market for the City of Portland’s Fix-It Fair
During COVID lock-down we collaborated with the City of Portland Fix-It Fair to bring locally grown, seasonal vegetable cooking to you live via Zoom. Fixin’ to Cook with Winter Vegetables is a cooking demonstration series highlighting winter vegetables root to leaf.
Videos are included below and their stories can be found on our Fixin’ to Cook page.
CONSUME SOMETHING AMAZING! with PNWCSA
We are thrilled to partner with Pacific Northwest Community Supported Agriculture coalition, producing videos for their Consume Something Amazing! (CSA!) campaign. The CSA! recipes and demonstration videos aim to inspire and instruct, featuring those glorious vegetables found in your CSA boxes, local markets, and gardens. Consume Something Amazing! videos can be found here.
WINTER
SPICY TAHINI CAESAR-STYLE SAUCE - you’ll want to drizzle this rich and creamy (without dairy) sauce on just about everything, including roast veggies, salad, seafood, and chicken.
UCHUCUTA / AJI VERDE SAUCE - this vegan green sauce is made with hot peppers and huacatay, a wild mint that grows at high elevations in Peru.
HUANCAINA SAUCE - named after the town of Huancayo, Peru, this vegan spicy, creamy, and cheesy sauce features aji amarillo, Peru’s native yellow hot pepper.
RUSTIC LENTIL SOUP - Alli Neri’s family Rustic Lentil Soup recipe incorporates a variety of winter vegetables and seasonings. This adaptable recipe’s secret is the parmesan cheese rind, an umami-imparting ingredient.
SLOW COOKER MINESTRONE SOUP - Heather Morrill’s hearty and seasonally-versatile slow cooker soup can serve as a full meal. Minestrone, which means “Big Soup” in Italian, is a classic hearty and wholesome dish with the added goodness of beans.
SOUP JOUMOU or FREEDOM SOUP - this delectable pumpkin soup can be made vegan, or with meat. This dish is so important in Haitian culture it was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. - Elsy Dinvil, Creole Me Up
BEET KVASS - Earthy, salty, and as sweet or sour as you like, this jewel-toned lacto-fermented beverage is full of probiotic goodness.
BRAISED BEET GREENS - the sweetest of all the hardy greens, try this simple cooking technique and you will never toss your beet greens again!
SAUERKRAUT - author Liz Crain celebrates cabbage with one of her favorite and easiest ferments: sauerkraut!
MUSHROOM & SAUSAGE ONE-POT MEAL - use a rice cooker to cook all the ingredients together, making a delicious and easy one-pot meal.
- Mandy King, Money Bowl PDX
Sautéed MUSHROOMS - super quick to prepare, sautéed mushrooms are a savory and versatile side dish!
CRAVE-WORTHY ROAST MUSHROOMS - deeply flavored oven roasted mushrooms.
WILD RICE STUFFED SQUASH - a great winter dish full of farmers market goodies. Substitute in your favorite ingredients and don’t worry too much about following the exact recipe—use what you’ve got on hand!
ROAST DELICATA SQUASH - oven roasting until slightly caramelized makes winter squash simply irresistible.
MICROWAVE WINTER SQUASH - a fast and easy way to cook your favorite winter squash.
ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS - about 30 minutes to prepare, with wonderful depth of flavor.
SHAVED BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD - build-your-own-adventure style quick and tasty salad.
SAUTEED BRUSSELS SPROUTS - less than 20 minutes to prepare and oh so delicious to eat.
WINTER TO SPRING SALAD - this hearty salad of winter greens, squash, fruit and nuts can be a side dish, or a full meal.
EASY HAZELNUT GRANOLA - so easy and so tasty - it’s hard to resist eating this granola before toasting it!
RYE + HAZELNUT SABLE COOKIES - this shortbread cookie recipe lets local grains and nuts shine. (You can also use all purpose flour and other nuts.)
QUICK PICKLED BEETS and APPLES - this versatile recipe can be used to quick pickle a variety of winter veggies and fruits.
SPRING
SPRING GREENS PESTO served with CARDOONS, RABE and PASTA - pesto is the ultimate build your own adventure, this version features citrusy sorrel and spicy cress.
NETTLES AND MUSHROOM BREAKFAST TACOS - rich and savory, these tacos are divine any time of day.
ASPARAGUS SOUP - this super simple asparagus soup is an absolute favorite.
- Heather Morrill
SPRING PANZANELLA (bread salad) - this scrumptious salad from Bon Appetit features spring stars: asparagus, sugar snap peas, scallions and herbs. Gotta love a salad that makes a full meal.
RHUBARB SHRUB - a splash of this delicious vinegared syrup perks up cocktails or bubbly water.
- Megan Scott, co-author, Joy of Cooking
SUMMER
SHRUBS - so much to love, so many possibilities!
Bright, tart, effervescent, zesty—however you describe them, these drinking vinegars are far more lively than their name connotes. Derived from sharāb, the Arabic word for “drink," shrub-esque recipes can be found back to Medieval texts, but its popularity—like many products that served to preserve a harvest into the darker months—waned after the invention of electricity and advanced pasteurization.
Like all things ferment, a shrub renaissance is upon us and we are here for it! Shrubs can be made with fruits and vegetables that are a little bruised, a little overripe, at the peak of the season (so usually cheaper). Shrubs require almost no investment in equipment and very little time: just vinegar, sugar, and mother nature’s bounty.
A while back Megan Scott, co-author of the most recent edition of Joy of Cooking, made a quick rhubarb shrub video for us:
Here are Megan’s Video and Recipe.
For a more in-depth exploration of shrub and other methods of preparation , Michael Dietsch wrote a clear and thorough story over at Serious Eats.
CSA! KOHLRABI SLAW - Robin Wheelright’s juicy and crunchy slaw will become your new favorite side dish for summer meals.
SALSA FRESCA with Tomatoes & Cucumbers - This classic combo features peak-season tomatoes, cucumbers and chiles.
CSA! EASY CHEESY POBLANO POTATO SAUTE - This warm pepper has a rich, savory flavor that develops throughout the season. Poblanos are the perfect pepper for just about any savory dish!
- Laura Bennett
CSA! BRIGHT ARUGULA SAUCE - this spicy and tangy sauce perks up grilled veggies, and proteins, and is a lively addition to salad dressings!
- Heather Morrill
CSA! WARM POTATO SALAD with ARUGULA - in this PNW take on a German-style potato salad the arugula brings a peppery flair to this classic summer side dish.
- Heather Morrill
GAZPACHO ANDINO - Farmers market heirloom tomatoes are bursting with color and flavor that require very little to shine, and they are the star of this soup.
EASY ROASTED TOMATOES - this easy cooking technique yields delicious and super versatile roast tomatoes!
- Lisa Hall, Manager, Montavilla Farmers Market
BURMESE TOMATO SALAD (khayan chin thi thoke) - a mouthwatering salad featuring luscious fresh tomatoes.
- Nick and Alex, Rangoon Bistro
BRAISED GREEN BEANS AND TOMATOES - this simple southern Italian style dish delivers big flavor. (And check out all her other recipes too!)
- Katherine Deumling, Cook With What You Have
HOBAKJEON (KOREAN ZUCCHINI PANCAKES) - Zucchini pancakes are widely enjoyed during the summer when zucchini is in season. You can be creative with the ingredients by adding onions, carrots, pepper, sometimes a little shrimp or squid. - Jinju Kim
BLUEBERRY SALSA with ROASTED PEPPERS & ONIONS - roasted peppers and onions add depth to this fresh fruit salsa.
- Adelante Mujeres + Forest Grove Farmers Market (watch their recipe video!) + Cornelius Farmers Market
BLUEBERRY COMPOTE & LEMON CURD TART - celebrate berry season in Oregon with this delicious, not-too-sweet tart. Freeze extra crust and blueberries to make this tart again after berry season!
BLUEBERRY LIMONADA - this seasonal PNW version of limonada is inspired by chicha morada, a traditional Peruvian drink.
BLUEBERRY BARBECUE SAUCE - fantastic with grilled meats, tempeh and veggies.
- Heather Morrill
FRUIT COBBLER BARS - made with a mix of seasonal fruit, these bars are great for a quick breakfast on the go, an afternoon treat, or dessert.
- Nicki Passarella, Storybook Farm
KEFTA KEBABS (with lovage!) - Kefta is a ground meat with onion, herbs and warm spices dish from the SWANA region.
LOVAGE POPCORN SEASONING (& lovage PRO-TIPS) - this easy-to-make seasoning mix is also amazing on ripe tomatoes, ramen, dips, garlic bread, in cottage cheese or on soups and stews!
- Jana Fay Ragsdale, Bolt PDX
LOVAGE INSPO - lovage stems make aromatic, compostable straws! Lovage stems are completely hollow and impart a slightly herbaceous note that elevates seltzers, lemonade, bloody marys and in particular, gin / vodka tonics. Cut stems when they’re about as big around as a Sharpie, they can be wrapped in a damp paper towel and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
LOVAGE & WALNUT PESTO - lovage and walnuts combine to create a delicious variation in the pesto spectrum.
YAKI-NASU - delectable pan-fried young eggplant with miso
- Lola Milholland, Umi Organic
MELON AND TOMATILLO SALAD - the tomatillo and pepper really zing in this quick and easy fresh fruit salad.
- Jacob Valentine, Feed the Mass
FOSSOLIA - green beans and carrots star in this delicious Ethiopian dish. (And check out her other recipes on her blog!)
- Eleni Woldeyes, Eleni’s Kitchen
PEACH PANZANELLA - this divine variation on an Italian bread salad is sure to thrill the big and little kids too. (Definitely check out his other recipes!)
- Jim Dixon, Wellspent Market
THE CHILLEST CUCUMBER SOUP - fast, easy and so good, this chilled soup will keep you cool as a cucumber.
- Jana Ragsdale, Bolt PDX
CALABACITAS - made with zucchini, tomatoes and sweet corn, this flavorful dish is delicious served with beans and rice, and warm tortillas.
- Nikki Guerrero, Hot Mama Salsa
LEMON VERBENA APRICOT SYRUP - delicious mixed with bubbly water or in cocktails.
- Nikki Guerrero, Hot Mama Salsa
AUTUMN
QUICK PICKLES - this versatile brine quickly preserves your favorite summer fruits and veggies.
- Hawnuh Lee, Closed Loop Cooking
PICKLED GRAPES - serve pickled grapes in salads or on cheese boards, or snack on them straight from the jar.
- Li Wen Chang, Nom Nom Taiwan
PUMPKIN & PORK STEW - the sweet pumpkin compliments the salty savoriness of the pork and spices.
- Li Wen Chang, Nom Nom Taiwan
BUTTERNUT SQUASH with an Indian flare - this fragrant Indian spiced squash will be your new fall go-to side dish.
- Leena Ezekiel, thali supper club