The Greenmarket Cookbook: Recipes, Tips, and Lore from the World Famous Urban Farmers' Market

FROM OUR EDITORS

Little Village in a Big Town

Please, accept my invitation to visit Small Town, Anywhere, U.S.A. The name of my small town is Union Square, and it is located in Manhattan, New York City. You ask: How can this be? What kind of village green or town square could possibly exist in the heart of the Big Apple?

It is true we have no penny candy store or wood-planked streets, not even a bandstand or gazebo for the local barbershop quartet to entertain us from on warm summer nights.

But what we do have in this most improbable of all places, the heart of lower Manhattan, is a little village that for the past 24 years has come to life as the sun rises every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. Year-round, no matter the weather—be it cold spring rains, the sweltering heat of July and August, which gives way to fall's breezy relief that takes us into winter's chill and back again to the first pussy willow buds of spring—my little village, often considered more reliable than the United States Postal Service, stands against the elements.

My name is Joel Patraker. For the past 18 years, first as a seller of grapes and now as assistant director, I have had the unique pleasure of standing at the center of our village—surrounded by its butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, fish mongers, milk producers, and, of course, some of the most outstanding growers of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, whose farms are actually much closer to the big city than you might think.

This village, also known as the world-famous Greenmarket farmers' market, has all the best qualities—maybe more—of any small town I have ever visited. Popping up like seedlings from the soil, tent poles and canopies are quickly set in place to cover gleaming bushels of shelling peas; large bunches of every variety of beet known to man (colored red, yellow, white, candy-striped) sit alongside baskets of ripe strawberries and peaches. And at dusk the market disappears as the city reclaims its territory.

It is a place where native New Yorkers from all walks of life come together and mingle with tourists from around the world. On any given day a four-star chef, a fashion model, or a Wall Street banker may be seen brushing shoulders with home cooks and French tourists, all of them busily sorting through a heaping pile of just-picked lima beans or discussing the merits of aged versus fresh goat cheese. Here, smiles and warm greetings and excellently grown produce are always the order of the day.

In The Greenmarket Cookbook, I take you behind the scenes of the bustling market, sharing with you my collected stories about the farmers, chefs, and market customers who make my little village come alive, along with recipes and shopping tips I've gathered at this urban oasis. Visitors to New York City are often surprised to discover that the locals here are so passionate about seasonal shopping and cooking. Where else but in New York can the hard-paved street, Broadway, open up into a farmers' market that offers more than 85 varieties of apples, 200 types of hot and sweet peppers, sweet corn picked at dawn on the farm and rushed to the market that same morning?

If the plane fare is too steep for you to come visit us here at Greenmarket, the beautiful photographs in my book will instantly transport you to the center of Union Square during any season you wish. (Here I must admit a personal bias—my wife, Marry Kim, took all the photos!)

We hope you enjoy cooking from our book, whether you use it shopping at your local farmers' market or at Union Square Greenmarket. And if you do come to town, stop by the market manager's table and introduce yourself. You'll always get a warm welcome in our little village.

—Joel Patraker

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Every city dweller has eaten Red Delicious, but how many know a Northern Spy or Black Twig--"the Guinness stout of apples"? Millions are being drawn to the green oases of 2,700 farmers' markets in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and many more. And they're hungry for new, easy ways to prepare the wholesome ingredients and rustic specialties they find there. In The Greenmarket Cookbook, Joel Patraker--known locally as the voice of the greenmarket--draws on his nearly twenty years with Manhattan's famed Union Square market to concoct a vivid stew of unique recipes, tips, and anecdotes from farmers, shoppers, chefs, and celebrities.

Lush color photographs and lively text evoke the country charm of produce brought fresh to the city. The 100 recipes are divided by each season and its produce, with lists of other items available, and charts--to help you pick apples by history, appearance, and taste or peppers by their degree of heat. In an age when people are clamoring for the freshest ingredients, The Greenmarket Cookbook goes straight to the source.

Joel Patraker is the Assistant Director of the Greenmarket program and spokesman for New York City's twenty-eight Greenmarkets, including the world famous Union Square market. He is also a consultant and public speaker on food.

Joan Schwartz, is the coauthor of many acclaimed cookbooks.
Marry Kim is an artist and photographer whose photographs have appeared in various publications.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The assistant director of the Greenmarket program, Patraker shares his zest for home-grown fruit, vegetables and produce in this celebration of the successful Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. The program began in the 1970s when Barry Benepe, founder of Greenmarket, wanted to find a way to sustain farmers in New York's Hudson Valley by supplying fresh produce directly to urban customers. Recipes, organized seasonally, are fairly simple, relying more on the taste of fresh produce than on culinary inventiveness, but there are a few exceptions: Chile Pumpkin Soup, Marinated Kermit Eggplants with Japanese Flavors and Crimson Chocolate Cake made with beets and carrots. Patraker and Schwartz use anecdotes to remind shoppers what a pleasure it can be to walk down the aisles choosing among greens, including mizuna and lamb's quarter, or just inhaling the scents of lavender and lilac. Their comprehensive lists of the various vegetable and fruit varieties (with names for tomatoes such as banana legs, purple calabash and black pear) will delight cooks and poets alike. This inspirational book may compel city dwellers to visit their local farmers' market and go home laden with chervil, savoy cabbage, hen of the woods (a type of wild mushroom) and quince, or slice some heirloom tomatoes and Aji peppers for an easy salad with feta cheese in summer. 150 color photographs by Marry Kim. (June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

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