Butter bean, tuna conserva and fresh tomato salad~these were just some of the delights of the first Market Demo for Life Ingredients.
Liza Shaw, from A16, hosted our first market demo Sunday morning. She was accompanied by Greta Macaire of UCSF, who answered questions regarding nutrition and preventative care.
The day started out with Liza, Anais and Shawndra McCrorey slicing tomatoes, chopping kale and prepping for a stunning salad. And the sun was shining!
We had a great turn-out and following the demo, questions and, of course, free samples, Molly Bloom and Michael Bendig hosted a tour through the market to meet the farmers, learn about new ingredients and possible ways to cook up something different with what we found.
Marin Farmers’ Market, thanks to Tyler and Matt, provided us with an amazing set-up to make the demo happen. Liza shopped for ingredients at the market on Thursday in Marin and was inspired by the butter beans and tomatoes. This is what she gathered…
~~ the recipe ~~
SALAD OF FRESH BUTTER BEANS AND TUNA CONSERVA WITH TOMATOES AND KALE (4-6 servings)
2 c fresh butter beans, cooked and seasoned with kosher salt, left in cooking water
12 oz quality canned tuna or homemade tuna conserva, broken into bite-sized chunks
4 large or 6 small tomatoes, large dice
1 large head kale, julienned
1 large head fennel, shaved on a mandoline or sliced thinly
4-6 oz quality extra virgin olive oil (amt depends on taste)
2-3 oz red wine vinegar (amt depends on taste and acidity of tomatoes)
pinch chile flakes
kosher salt, to taste
(optional: 1/3 c toasted large breadcrumbs)
1. Season tomatoes well with salt. They will begin to release their juices which will become the dressing for the salad. Also season sliced kale. Salt will wilt it slightly, for better texture in the salad.
2. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, tuna, olive oil, vinegar and chile flakes.
3. Strain butter beans (discard cooking liquid) and add to the bowl.
4. Finally, add fennel and kale. Toss well and season to taste with additional olive oil, vinegar or salt if desired.
5. Serve on individual plates garnished with breadcrumbs, if desired. The end result of the salad should be juicy and breadcrumbs will add texture as well as sop up juices.
Many thanks to everyone that was involved~it was an absolute success and we are very excited to see what the future holds.