Market to Menu: Recipe Exchange

We're launching our new "Market to Menu" series, showcasing your favorite recipes! Share your recipes with us, and we'll post them for all our shoppers to enjoy. Please send recipes to info@WesternWakeFarmersMarket.org and provide a link and/or source along with your name and the recipe, and notes about how you tweaked the recipe, if at all.

A quick thought on shopping the market: If you see ingredients at market that you're not sure how to cook, ask the vendors. They are experts! Or step out of your comfort zone and substitute an item from one of your favorite dishes.

Here are two seasonal dishes to get our Market to Menu series started, and remember to check the Learn tab for recipes posted earlier this season and last year. Bon appetit!

Leek and Asparagus Quiche
With eggs, leeks and asparagus from the market, you can't go wrong with this dish for breakfast, lunch or even a light dinner. This recipe is from Stacey Snacks, a food blog that has a lot of really tasty recipes--and plenty of pictures to go with them. This recipe calls for gruyere cheese too, but if you want even more local ingredients, check with Hillsborough Cheese Co. on whether they have a substitute they might recommend. (photo by Stacey Snacks)

Beet Tabbouleh with Lemon, Mint and Feta
A lot of people are puzzled about what to do with beets. Thanks to Juliann Zoetmulder for this delicious recipe. Yield: 8 servings (4 cups)

Vinaigrette:
3 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS minced shallots
2 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS walnut oil

Tabbouleh:
2 cups presoaked bulgur (1:1 bulgur/water soak one hour)
1 cup diced cooked beets (boil beets until tender)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Whisk lemon juice, shallots, honey, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Add olive and walnut oils and whisk until blended. Add bulgur, beets, parsley, mint, and walnuts. Toss to coat with vinaigrette.

Garnish salad with feta cheese.