Napa Cabbage, Spinach and Rain

The tagline that's associated with the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market is "Open Rain or Shine." What about "Rain or Monsoon?" The answer is yes. The market was open Sunday and it was business as usual—for the vendors who were able to make it.

This was the last market before Christmas so I was eager to stock up on my staples for the Christmas Eve and Day dinners I'll be preparing. But I'll likely have to visit a few other markets this week because many of our farmers just couldn't make it to Beverly Hills in this wet weather. I did visit the handful of farmers who made the trek, purchasing ingredients for some quick side dishes.

Capay Organic has the first harvest of Napa cabbage, the sweet Chinese variety that many chefs I've worked with would always sauté and serve with game meats such as venison or rabbit. An old friend of mine in New York liked to serve Napa cabbage raw. She would take thin slices and add peanuts, onions and crumbled, uncooked ramen, then toss the mixture with soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil for a tasty Asian salad. I prefer to dice up a good bacon slab and add in the cabbage to sauté in the fat. I'm preparing lamb this Christmas so it will be a perfect side dish.

The South Central Farmers Cooperative came to the market with beautiful, crisp baby spinach that would also sauté well with a slab of bacon. If you're not a bacon eater, then both the Napa cabbage and spinach can be sautéed with just olive oil. If you like spicy food, T&D Farms has small red chili peppers that grow wild on its land. They don't know the name of them, but say they're extremely hot. Slice and pop a few into any of these dishes for a spark of color and fire.

As I get ready to have friends join me for this week's holiday meals, I realize that writing for Patch has brought many old acquaintances literally out of the kitchen cupboard. Long lost high school pals are discovering my articles about the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market. One of these newly found friends is Allison Thomas, an old East Coast college buddy. We lost contact a long time ago, but recently found each other again thanks to Patch.

So I'd like to share Allison's recipe for a warm salad of grilled vegetables tossed in balsamic vinaigrette with shaved Parmesan cheese. It's quick and easy to prepare so long as you can find potatoes, zucchini, radicchio and portobello mushrooms, which are all in season. The dish serves six, and goes well with meats and fish.

Ingredients:

• 10 small red potatoes sliced in half
• one zucchini cut into long quarter-strips
• one radicchio, cut in half
• two large portobello mushrooms
• one small block of Parmesan cheese 

Ingredients for the dressing: 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar, 1 small minced shallot, 1 large clove of garlic mashed into a paste, 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons honey, 3/4 cup olive oil, ground pepper and salt.

Whisk honey, mustard and garlic together until totally combined. Add shallot and vinegar and whisk thoroughly to incorporate. Add olive oil in a steady drizzle, constantly whisking to emulsify.

Heat grill on high. Brush potatoes and zucchini with olive oil. Grill until golden brown. Brush radicchio halves with olive oil and grill until lightly charred. Take two large portobello mushrooms and do the same. Place all items into a bowl and set aside. (If you're worried about food falling through the grill, place it on aluminium foil).

When you're ready to assemble the dish, transfer the vegetables to a platter and cut everything into uniform, bite-size pieces. Then put the veggies in a bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with chopped chives. Shave slices of Parmesan cheese on top and season with salt and pepper. 

I wish you all a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year. The market will be closed Sunday and will reopen Jan. 2.

The Beverly Hills Farmers' Market is held every Sunday (rain or shine) from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the 9300 block of Civic Center Drive. There are more than 60 farmers and vendors offering a wide variety of organic and conventional California-grown seasonal fruits and vegetables. There are also prepared food kitchens with menu items to take out or enjoy at the small on-site cafe.

Parking is available on the neighboring side streets or in the garage attached to the City Hall and library. The market supplies free shopping carts to use and they are located there. If you have any stories or recipes from the market that you wish to share, please contact the site editor at mariec@patch.com.

David De Bacco is a writer living and celebrating life in Los Angeles. He has worked for some of the world's most famous chefs and restaurateurs, and along the way he became a little savvy about food and wine. He has published articles and cookbooks for Shibata Publishing Co. in Tokyo and is a contributing writer for Edge Publications. He is also the creator of the Cookin with Mama blog, a meeting place to share recipes from our mothers.