Produce

Whit’s Picks

Root Vegetables and MM Local Pear Sauce

Latkes are a traditional part of celebrating Hanukkah, but I often see them make their way into Passover Seders. If you are planning on including them in your Seder this year and want to impress your guests with something a little out-of-the-ordinary, look no further! 

These Rainbow Latkes look like a major departure from the traditional russet potato version. They take on a beautiful ruby hue thanks to the beets, but are also studded with carrots and purple potatoes to give you almost all the colors of the rainbow (once you add the chives, all we’re missing is blue!).  The flavor is more complex and layered than the all-potato latkes while still maintaining that homey, comfort-food taste.  The parsnips add a hint of herbal sweetness and the beets lend a pleasant, earthy fragrance to the dish. 

I love to pair these latkes with one of my favorite new products - MM Local Pear Sauce.  The rich, brown-sugar sweetness of the pears adds a wonderful contrast and feels unexpected and yet familiar at the same time.  Once you try this version of the traditional side dish, you might just want to adopt a brand new tradition!

Whit's Picks: rainbow Latkes

• Rainbow Latkes
  makes 12-14 latkes

  1 medium russet potato

• 2 medium purple potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 small parsnip
• 1 medium red beet
• ½ yellow onion
• ¼ cup matzo meal
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• ¼ cup chives, finely sliced
• MM Local Pear Sauce 

Scrub root vegetables well and peel, if desired.  Shred the potatoes, carrot, parsnip and onion on a box grater (alternatively, a food processor on the grater setting makes fast work of this step).  Place grated vegetables in a large bowl and set aside. 

Lay out some old newspaper to protect your work surface and grate the beet.  Set the grated beet aside in a separate bowl and toss with the matzo meal.  Add egg, salt and pepper to root vegetable mixture and toss well to combine.  Add matzo-coated beets and toss quickly with a fork to minimize “bleeding.”

Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan well.  Once oil is hot, reduce the heat, slightly, to prevent smoking.  Wet your hands with cold water and form vegetable mixture into flat cakes, using about 1/3 a cup of the mixture per latke (you can use more if you like larger latkes).  Gently place each latke in the hot oil and fry until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.  Allow to drain on newspaper or paper towels and serve hot, with pear sauce (or applesauce) on the side and plenty of chives sprinkled on the top.

Buy local. It tastes better.

July and August are two of the best months to buy local produce. We purchase Colorado fruits and veggies whenever possible, as long as the product lives up to our mile-high standards. Our produce hails from Colorado farms such as Munson Farm in Boulder, Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, Berry Patch Farms in Brighton and Elaine Granata on the northwest corner of 17th and Clarkson.

Colorado farms sure know their produce. Bob Munson started growing veggies to teach his kids a lesson on earning money. Now Coloradans salivate just thinking of the sweet golden kernels that are harvested by Munson Farm.

Then there’s Steve Ela’s giant, juicy peaches that grace our presence every August. Just wait, Peach Week is coming!

As of last week we now carry produce from Berry Patch Farms in Denver’s northeast suburb of Brighton. They have a farmer’s market inside a barn but also allow shoppers to handpick their crop directly from the nearby fields. We currently offer their rainbow chard, heirloom mixed squash, green beans, Mideastern cucumbers and mini purple onions. All are bright, fresh and colorful.

Our favorite Uptown gardener, Elaine Granata, steps across 17th avenue a few times a week with her bucket of goodies that you can’t find anywhere else: romano beans, fairytale eggplant and mini white pickling cucumbers, to name a few. And if you’ve never heard of yellow filet beans (yet, another Elaine speciality) never fear! We would love to tell you how to eat them. Her crops are fresh picked and as organic as vegetatively possible.

So next time you’re in Marczyk Produce Land, look for the local sticker and taste the harvest of Colorado.