Down In the Holler

Brian and I got back from visiting his family in Jackson Mississippi early this morning. After brunch and a much needed nap I decided to venture out to Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market with my darling friend and neighbor Laura Louise. Generally I try to avoid YDFM on the weekends because it gets SO crowded. We are talking grocery cart collision and tight squeezes at every turn. Really it’s not for the faint of heart. But we were in dire need of a serious grocery trip and this is my preferred grocer for pantry staples and fresh produce. This isn’t a farmer’s market in the sense that there are farmers there selling, it’s more of a combination international market and natural foods emporium. But it’s a real gem here in Atlanta nonetheless.

I didn’t even think until I arrived that it is a holiday weekend so there were even more folks than normal milling about gathering BBQ fixings and trying to avoid grocery cart grid lock. Things got so bad on the aisle with the fresh corn and trash cans for shucking that I pulled a quick u-turn mid aisle, nearly causing a cabbage avalanche as I retreated to a less interactive area. But I digress.

I managed to sit down before we left and make a solid shopping list based on recipes that I plan on executing this week plus all the staples that we needed. My list was long and in the crowd there was to be no dawdling or perusing the merchandise. I put my blinders on got down to business. I did pretty well. But no matter how hard I try I cannot ever stick exactly to a grocery list. Shopping for food rivals shopping for shoes to me. Like admiring yourself in the foot mirror wearing a cute pair of wedge sandals and thinking about what sundress will pair best, I think of favorite recipes for the season and what I already have in my shopping cart, garden or pantry that will pair best. And on really inspired shopping trips I might imagine sitting in the backyard drinking wine with friends, wearing a cute sundress and wedge sandals and eating an artfully crafted seasonal dish made of a combination of fresh from my garden produce and whatever culinary object of desire that has captured my attention. Needless to say sometimes grocery store trips take me hours.

Today it was a bag of rich, egg yolk colored, organic Meyer lemons from Florida that captured my attention. I’ve never seen them at YDFM before, and while I know that their season is usually Winter, they looked to be in good shape and they didn’t come from another hemisphere. Perhaps they are finding ways to extend the growing season or they are the product of improved storage techniques. Either way these looked beautiful and a little rub of their fragrant skin sealed the deal for me.

I had plans to make preserved lemons with them…well I still do. But one of them found it’s way into dinner tonight. When I got home and took a walk through the garden I noticed that we had plenty of darling little sweet green peas ready for harvest. When I planted these peas earlier in the spring I had visions of recreating a green pea risotto that I once had at a wine dinner at Nell’s Restaurant in Seattle. If someone were to ask me what Spring tasted like, that risotto from Nell’s is the answer. Fresh and sweet and green, tender and yielding, but still toothsome like a proper risotto should be. Every bite has a few tender fresh peas in it that pop with little bursts of green sweetness in a way that frozen peas could never manage.

So here I am on Memorial Day weekend, the holiday that usually ushers in Summer, and it’s still rainy and cooler than any May in Georgia that I can remember. My sweet green peas are just ready for harvest, my baby basil plants have grown big enough so far that they can afford to lose a few leaves and I’m lusting after a citrus fruit whose season is usually months over. All these circumstances created one of the best risottos I’ve ever made. This one doesn’t taste exactly like Spring, but it does taste like something awesome.

And with preserved Meyer lemons on hand I can make this again when I have more peas and/or recommend this recipe in good conscience without fearing that I’m supporting a combination of ingredients that you’ll never find in season together again. So here it is:

Meyer Lemon & Sweet Pea Risotto

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• Zest and juice of 1 Meyer Lemon or 1-2 tablespoons minced preserved Meyer lemon
• 3/4 cup fresh shelled green peas (may substitute frozen)
• 1/2 cup basil chiffonade
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Heat stock in a small sauce pot until warmed through. In a seperate pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and onion until translucent. Add rice to garlic and onions and cook until rice is translucent on the edges and opaque in the center (about 2 minutes). Add sherry and stir constanly until mostly absorbed. Reduce heat to low and add 1/2 cup of warmed stock, stirring frequently until stock is mostly absorbed. Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring frequently until 1/2 cup of stock remains (un-added to risotto). Stir in peas and last 1/2 cup of stock. Continue to stir frequently. Once stock is mostly absorbed, stir in basil and cook until basil is wilted and risotto is al dente. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.