tool name

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007

Farm to feast: Take advantage of what the Valley has to offer

It's just past harvest time -- and anyone who lives in the Central Valley knows what that means as far as fruits and vegetables are concerned.

The best vegetable crops are available right now -- or are just past their peak. If you haven't yet enjoyed the Valley's bounty, you'd better do it before the season is over.

Joe Marchini of Marchini Farms in Le Grand is a tireless, resourceful and innovative man. He is responsible for bringing European-style vegetables to the western U.S., the most prominent being radicchio.

Marchini grows five varieties of this intensely flavored vegetable, which now is in great demand. He ships his produce across the country and overseas to places like Japan, where consumers pay a premium price for quality.

Marchini and his family also grow much smaller quantities of other crops, like tomatoes and figs. He recently brought some tomatoes, figs and other fruits and vegetables to my kitchen so I could create some recipes you could make at home.

Here are some of the fruits and vegetables I like at this time of year:

Tomatoes that are juicy and vine-ripened. I can't get enough of them -- I eat them every day, in fact. There's nothing better than a ripe, delicious tomato. Buy some great extra virgin olive oil and an aged balsamic vinegar -- that's all you need to top a tomato at this time of year.

Heirloom tomatoes -- which come in all shapes and sizes -- show up at farmers markets. Be sure to check them out for unique flavors and textures.

Zucchini and eggplant are at their best. Check out the selection at the local certified farmers market, where small local growers sell what they pull out of their fields. The quality always is high at farmers markets and finer grocery stores. Be choosy.

Figs are at their peak. I love figs, and I've created a recipe with them (you can find it at right).

Now you can watch me cook online. Click below to watch my latest cooking video.

The Valley Chef column was created to highlight and profile the Valley's great resource of farmers and ranchers.

Until recently, the Valley Chef only had still photos online. The video now allows us to present a full-scale cooking demonstration, with the grower along to help out.

Marchini joined me for this latest video. If you take the time to watch it, I'm sure you'll learn more about how to cook.

Go out and enjoy the local bounty!

Vincent DeAngelo is owner and chef of DeAngelo's Italian Restaurant in downtown Merced. You can e-mail him at vinnie@deangelosrestaurant.com.

Recipe: Grilled Figs

1 vine ripe tomato, sliced
3-4 ripe black figs, grilled
2 ounces goat cheese
6 slices Francesi bread, grilled
2 ounces toasted seasoned walnuts or pecans
4-5 basil leaves, cut in thin slices

Procedure: On serving dish, lay out sliced tomatoes and top with grilled figs, goat cheese and toasted nuts. Spread out basil and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and 10- to-12-year-old balsamic vinegar. Serve with grilled bread.

Recipe: Pizza Marchini

10 ounce piece of pizza dough
Fresh sweet tomato sauce
4 figs, sliced or quartered
3 ounces shallots, caramelized in 1 ounce olive oil
2 ounces toasted pine nuts
3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

Procedure: Roll out dough, top lightly with tomato sauce, add the figs, pine nuts, Gorgonzola and caramelized shallots and bake until hot at 500 degrees on a pizza stone or in a brick oven.