It’s a hard decision to make: whether to stroll through the farmers market and pick up ingredients, or to put yourself in the hands of a farm-to-table chef?

The former option is so satisfying, especially when turning over produce in the sunshine, interacting with farmers, and then taking it home to cook a healthy meal all by yourself.

But the latter option guarantees an easy, pleasurable and delicious meal. After all, how many times have you decided against picking up things at the farmers market because you have no idea what to do with all those pretty vegetables ?

Well, I have a nice compromise for you: Write down the ingredients for the following three recipes, stroll through the farmer’s market, and cook yourself a restaurant-worthy dish–no creativity or intimate knowledge of flavor profiles need.

Socca With Spring Vegetables | 1200 Miles

Serves 4 with One Crepe Each

Total Time: 2 Hours

INGREDIENTS

For the Socca:

2 cups chickpea flour

2 cups water

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Vadouvan spice (Available at specialty food stores)

1 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

1 cup julienned carrots

½ cup sliced radishes

1 cup fava beans

1/2 cup pearl onions

1 cup yellow wax beans

1 cup baby turnips

1 cup haricot verts

For the Sauce:

3/4 cup yogurt

1/3 cup tahini

2 tablespoons lime juice

Pea shoots for garnish

PREPARATION

• Whisk together the chickpea flour, water, olive oil and salt together in a small bowl and give the batter an hour to rest.
• While the batter is resting, blanche all the vegetables and chill them in an ice bath. Create the sauce by blending the yogurt, tahini and lime juice together and refrigerate.
• When the batter is ready, sauté all vegetables in a large pan with the Vadouvan spice.
• While the vegetables are sautéing, film a pan with oil and set over medium-high heat. Pour in 1/4 of the socca batter. After about 3 minutes when the edges are firm, gently lift the pancake and flip it. Cook on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes, until both surfaces are dry and beginning to brown. Repeat process to make four crepes.
• Split the vegetable mix into four portions and fill each crepe.
• Plate the crepes with a spoonful of the yogurt tahini sauce on the side. Garnish top of each crepe with a small handful of pea shoots.

Asparagus & Squire Hill Farm Egg with Fava Beans, Pickled Onions, and Parmesan | The Fourth

By Executive Chef Marco A. Moreira and Chef de Cuisine Jason Hall

Serves 4

For the Squire Hill Farm egg aioli:

INGREDIENTS

3 Squire Hill Farm egg yolks

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 lemons, juiced

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

• Whisk together egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a medium-sized bowl.
• Emulsify in olive oil, slowly. Season to taste.

For the Asparagus and Fava Bean Salad:

INGREDIENTS

Jumbo, local asparagus (3 to 5 asparagus per person, depending on size)

1 pint shelled, fresh fava beans (roughly 1 ½ cups)

parmesan cheese

½ red onion, thinly sliced

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, basil, mint, and dill – as salad garnish

sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

4 eggs, prepared sunnyside up

PREPARATION

• Bring a pot of water to a boil for blanching the asparagus and fava beans. Set aside an ice bath for cooling.
• In a small bowl, marinate red onion slices in red wine vinegar to quickly pickle and set aside.
• Peel asparagus using a vegetable peeler and trim off the base. Peel 3/4 –way up stalk until white flesh is exposed.
• Blanch the asparagus, keeping together in a bundle using butcher’s string or the rubber band it came with (about 3 ½ minutes). Next blanch the fava beans (1 minute) and transfer to ice bath.
• Heat a grill, or alternatively, set oven to broil. Brush cooled, lightly dried asparagus with olive oil and salt. Broil or grill until lightly charred.
• To mix the salad, combine favas, red onion, fresh herbs, and parmesan shavings. Add in some olive oil to blend with red wine vinegar.
• Prepare eggs sunnyside up.
• To plate, spread a thin layer of Squire Hill Farm aioli on the plate. Place charred asparagus on top. Place sunnyside up Squire Hill Farm egg on top, with fava bean salad adjacent.

Chilled Green and White Asparagus Salad with Black Truffle Vinaigrette | Toqueville

Serves 4 

INGREDIENTS

Asparagus:

½ lb green asparagus, peeled

½ lb white asparagus, peeled

Vinaigrette:

1 – 2 oz black truffle, shaved (plus more for garnish if desired)

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

2 oz olive oil

2 oz truffle oil*

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 1/2 oz sherry vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

*To substitute for kosher, use olive oil infused with truffles

Herb Salad:

3 oz micro or baby greens such as baby mizuna, mash, baby beet greens. (You may substitute with picked fresh tarragon and chervil.)

DIRECTIONS

• Blanche white and green asparagus. Set aside.  Emulsify all vinaigrette ingredients in blender and refrigerate. (Keeps 3 days.)

When serving:

• Toss asparagus spears with vinaigrette.
• Place dressed asparagus on each plate, alternating green and white.
• Garnish with herb salad and thinly shaved black truffles.