Good Food Weekly Farmers’ Market Digest

Every week Good Food visits the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers’ Market and brings the latest news from farmers and chefs.

This week Laura Avery speaks with Alex Ageneau, the executive chef at Aestus, who is shopping for Brown Sugar persimmons for his Grilled Persimmon Salad recipe.

Plus, Laura talks with Laurence Hauben of Penryn Orchard Specialties about their nine different persimmon varietals. They also delve into hoshigaki, the traditional Japanese method of drying persimmons to achieve maximum flavor and sweetness.

What You Should Buy This Weekend At the Farmers’ Market:

– Maru persimmons and Hyaicume (Brown Sugar) persimmons from Penryn Orchard Specialists. Listen to Laurence Hauben talk about her persimmons on this week’s market report.

– The Orange Sherbet cantaloupe from Finley Farms have an aromatic and delicious orange flesh.

– Sierra Gold potatoes from Rutiz Family Farms. Scrub the potatoes clean with a brush; cook and eat them with the skin on.

– The Romaine hearts from Coastal Farms are very crispy and have a slightly sweet flavor.

– Winter squash from Jimenez Family Farms. Look for heavy, hard-skinned squash without blemishes. To prepare, cut the squash lengthwise, remove the seeds, and bake the halves in the oven for about an hour.

Recipes for your Market Haul:

Drowned Lettuce Soup

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup

Roasted Delicata Squash Salad

Kabocha Squash Dinner Rolls

Oven-Baked Potatoes in the Neapolitan Style

DJ Olsen’s Hachiya Persimmon Sorbet