Make this dazzling dish with a Japanese mandoline and pluots, a sweet plum-apricot hybrid.
The beauty of summer produce is that even the most casual cooks can make magic with it. Finding kitchen inspiration is as simple as looking at what’s in season. Right now, it’s all about berries — ripe, jewel-like blueberries, raspberries and blackberries can be found in markets throughout the country.
Lucky Maine has an abundance of both wild and cultivated blueberries well into September. Berries grow all over the state, from “Downeast” in Washington County to the mountains of Western Maine. If you’re headed that way this summer, don’t miss the chance to pick your own using a blueberry rake, or check out any number of blueberry festivals this August.
These antioxidant-rich berries are also at peak in southwest Michigan’s blueberry belt. Candy Todd, market manager at the Holland Farmers Market there, explains that high temperatures in March followed by a cold snap in April wreaked havoc on the region’s orchard fruits, but that the berries pulled through just fine.
Of course, nothing says outdoor summer dining better than sweet corn and tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes will really make themselves known around August, but other field tomatoes are plentiful now. Make it a picnic salad that everyone will be talking about by putting sweet corn ears and tomatoes, along with wedges of watermelon, onto the grill. Scrape the corn off the ears, and cut the tomato and watermelon into smaller pieces. Toss the charred produce together with a very light mix of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, smashed garlic and a touch of Dijon mustard.
Deep summer also means stone fruits, like fuzzy-soft peaches and silky-smooth nectarines, which are available into September. Surprising to some, Georgia doesn’t lead the nation in peach production. It’s California, followed by South Carolina, which has more than 18,000 acres of peach farms. “We’ll see peaches through September and even into early October,” says Dave Tompkins, manager of the Columbia-based South Carolina State Farmers Market. Beyond the market, look for pick-your-own farms in the three main growing areas: the Ridge in the hillier central part of the state; the northwestern Piedmont region, and the eastern Coastal Plains.
Other stone fruits, such as plums and apricots, are also plentiful this time of year. California’s Central Coast, the agricultural heart of the state, will have these fruits into September. But for a real surprise at the table, look for pluots, a hybrid of plums and apricots. Joe Thomas of Thomas Hill Farms in Paso Robles, CA, is harvesting these extra-sweet fruits in droves these days and serves them in his market bistro alongside salmon and in dessert cobblers. And for an impressive-yet-simple dish that anyone can make: pluot carpaccio.
Pluot Carpaccio
Serves 4
10 pluots (pick them firm)
1 little handful of kumquats (6–8)
1 jalapeño, seeds removed
¼ red onion
6 tablespoons organic coconut milk
4 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
2 limes (zest and juice)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Pansies (optional)
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil to finish
Kosher salt
1. Slice the pluots, kumquats, jalapeño and red onion thinly and uniformly, keeping them separated to make it easier to assemble. For the best results, use a Japanese mandoline.
2. Divide the coconut milk and place on 4 plates, then arrange the pluots, kumquats, jalapeño and red onion.
3. Drizzle a tablespoon of agave nectar or honey on each plate, the juice of half a lime and its zest, sesame seeds et voilà. You can finish the carpaccio with a little drizzle of olive oil (about 1 teaspoon per plate) and garnish with pansies.
NUTRITION SCORE (per serving)
264 calories
Fat 11 g
(5 g saturated)
Carbs 44 g
Protein 3 g
Fiber 5 g
Calcium 63 mg
Iron 1.7 mg
Sodium 7 mg
Photo credit: Thomas Hill Organics
Do you have a special dish you make with in-season produce at this time of year?
