We venture north for this week’s market recap, to the debut of Chicago’s Green City Market in Lincoln Park. Farmers from northern Indiana and Illinois, and from Michigan and Wisconsin brought spring produce, and some surprises. Notably, honeycrisp apples from a Michigan orchard, as still crisp and honeylicious as they were when they were picked months ago. I’d always heard from local (meaning, Southern Ohio and Indiana) growers that honeycrisps are so thin-skinned that they don’t store well. But these are delicious, if a bit blemished.
I was in Chicago with my brotherthechef, Bill, and our mom for Mother’s Day weekend. We shopped the Saturday market looking to find goodies to fix for dinner, and we weren’t disappointed (although we didn’t find the ramps Bill was hoping for). A bunch of spring onions and two of asparagus were trimmed and grilled, then tossed with some gorgeous red leaf lettuce and a simple mustard vinaigrette. Bill seasoned some small ribeye steaks from a local producer with salt and pepper and grilled them over charcoal: delicious.
Here’s the simple dressing recipe that Bill made for the salad with grilled vegetables:
simple vinaigrette
2 small garlic cloves
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
With a large knife, smash the garlic on a cutting board and then create a paste by drawing the blade of the knife across the garlic, pressing down, and repeating until the garlic is smooth; scrape into a bowl. Add the mustard. Whisk in the vinegar, then gradually and slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is well-combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
