A Winter Farmer's Market Lunch

Yet again, this post is brought to you because of another inspired visit I had to the Norwich winter farmers' market. Saturday the 13th of February saw not only the return of the market in Norwich's Tracy Hall after its near 6-week absence, but also the restocking of our home freezer, refrigerator, and pantry with the local, organic, and seasonal offerings of the Upper Valley's farmers and food producers. This time however, I knew the event was going to merit some picture-taking so I had my camera at the ready throughout my first laps around to visit all the vendors.

Since Luna Bleu Farm is perhaps one of the only sources of natural and organic chicken livers available in the Upper Valley, as usual, they were our first stop when my parents and I reunited at the market's entrance. Incidentally the farm is also one of our favorite vendors to find fresh eggs and produce, so with livers in hand we proceeded to select our share of their beautiful winter harvest selection: a sac-load of carrots, pungent red and yellow onions, baby new potatoes, and fantastically-coulored beets.

Another vendor my parents and I are quite fond of for their wide range of meats is Hogwash Farm. Here we always manage to find at least one or two products that prove both flavoursome and sustainable - requirements that I demand of most of my food at this stage - as their meats are all from their locally raised heritage animals. This time we walked away with a large pork roast - not my favourite but something I would eat given the reputable source - as well as with a packet of succulent looking strips of streaky bacon.

Meat-wise this trip to the market also introduced us to Highfields Farm, where we found a nicely plump chicken as well as an fine lamb loin on the bone. Both meats have since withstood the test of roasting and both passed the taste test with flying colours. In fact I am currently in the process of making a puffed pastry chicken pot pie with the leftover chicken meat and will let you know it the next post how said pie turns out.

For right now however, I would like to tell you a little about the salad I composed for myself upon returning from the market with a ripe appetite for all the fresh produce. Although root vegetables might not often be considered for a raw salad, I assure you that this one that I came up with is an ideal winter's lunch with the crunchiness and freshness to outdo a summer competitor salad. Thus, I give you the recipe and encourage you to give it a go before these roots are r

eplaced by spring's bounty.

Ingredients: For the Salad

1 small jerusalem artichoke (also call sunchokes), washed and grated

1 small beetroot, peeled and grated

1 small carrot, peeled and grated

3-4 Boston lettuce leaves, washed (optional)

parsley, chopped

For the Dressing

1 tblsp cider vinegar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp maple syrup

3 tblsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine the cider vinegar, mustard, and maple syrup in a small bowl, and then slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking to create and homogenous dressing. Season with the salt and pepper

2) Mix together all the grated root vegetables in one bowl then toss with most of the dressing so that it coats the salad evenly.

3) Lay the Boston lettuce leaves (if you choose to use them) on a plate and drizzle the remaining dressing over them. Top the leaves with the grated, dressed vegetables and sprinkle over as much chopped parsley as you would like.

For a more complete lunch I paired my salad with a toasted slice of La Panciata's honey and oat bread, on which I spread a small helping of french chicken liver pate... YUMMY:)