Market Meals Made Quick

For me (and I’m guessing for many of you), Saturday is unofficially designated “Errand Day”, a day set aside to check off some of the “to do” items that accumulate during the week… laundry, dusting, gardening, catching up on a week of emails, and the like.  The most enjoyable aspect of “Errand Day” for me (and I’m hoping for many of you) is getting out to the area’s farmers’ markets to restock on fresh produce, and sometimes to pick up other special “treats”. 

Cooking a meal from the farmers’ market doesn’t always result in hours of veggie prep.  And after a day of checking items off the “to do” list, many times I’m not terribly motivated to prepare a semi-complicated meal.  I like “easy” as much as the next person, and with just a couple of items I found at The Saturday Market last Saturday I was able to achieve “easy” for dinner in about 25 minutes (including some veggie prep).

This meal doesn’t really need a formal ”recipe”, just a few ingredients, two of which came from vendors* at The Saturday Market: 

• One jar Nello’s Sauce* (By the way, I understand we’ll be able to find Nello’s Sauce on a shelf at Weaver Street Market sometime soon!)
• One-half cup (or so) dry white wine (I had a bottle of chardonay on hand)
• One pound (or so) tilefish (purchased mine from Locals Seafood*)
• A loaf of your favorite crusty bread from a local bakery

The process is that simple too.  I poached the fish in Nello’s Sauce (to which I had added the white wine), and served with some braised kale (from my CSA pick up that week).  I later realized I was missing a key component to this meal, a hunk of crusty bread to sop up the sauce – duh!  Please learn from my mistake.  Make sure you have some sourdough, french or italian bread available, so you don’t leave any sauce behind.

1. Pour contents of one jar of Nello’s Sauce into a sauce pan.  Add 1/2 cup (or so) dry white wine to the sauce.  Stir to combine.
2. Heat sauce over medium heat, until it bubbles, but don’t let it boil. 
3. Gently slide the fish into the bubbling sauce, leaving some space between pieces.
4. Place a lid on the sauce pan and let the fish poach in the sauce for about eight minutes, until cooked through (but not falling apart).  Turn the heat down a bit if the sauce starts to boil.
5. Once the fish has poached, carefully remove each piece to a plate, then spoon sauce over/around fish, as much as you like (more, if you’ve got enough bread on hand).

That’s all.  Simple, quick, and dee-lish!  Add a side of vegetables (anything you have on hand), and don’t forgot the bread, please.  Nello’s sauce and bread make quite a lovely pair.

Create your own quick and simple week night meal from a local farmer’s market tonight!  The following markets are open Tuesday afternoons during the summer:

Fearrington  Farmers’ Market

2000 Fearrington Village Center

Pittsboro

4 – 6 pm

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Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market

201 S Estes Drive

In the parking lot behind A Southern Season

University Mall

Chapel Hill

3 – 6 pm

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Cary Downtown Farmers’ Market

744 E Chatham St

Chatham Square Shopping Center

Cary

3 – 6 pm

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Western Wake Farmers’ Market

On Morrisville-Carpenter Road

Between Davis Dr & Hwy 55

In Carpenter Village

Morrisville

3:30 – 6:30 pm