Erica De Mane

I’m so lucky to have the small and extremely manageable Abingdon Square Greenmarket only a few steps from my apartment. It’s only open on Saturdays, but that’s great, since weekends are when Union Square gets especially hectic and pushy. This market is sweet and easy. The vendors set up all around the park, on the sidewalk, not with tons of room, but everyone seems to get with the program and shuffle through at a good pace. My favorite fish guy, Phil Karlin, and his people are there. Yesterday I picked up littleneck clams and baked them with breadcrumbs, garlic, thyme, and a shot of Pernod. So fresh and juicy. And here is some early summer produce I also grabbed:

I’m so happy to see my favorite zucchini variety, Romanesco, back for the season. Its flesh is dense, not as watery as the dark green variety, and it actually has a taste, unlike the dark green variety. I love it sautéed with onion and a splash of Marsala and then finished with basil and tossed with penne. I also, as my grandmother used to do, roast them in a hot oven and then give them a gentle marinade of summer garlic slivers, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and mint.

Here’s another summer squash. This one is a hybrid called Zephyr. It’s so beautiful, with its light green snub end. It is wonderful split and thrown on the grill and then showered with fresh marjoram. I also love it sautéed with pancetta and young leeks.

Aside from the gorgeous, fresh garlic I find in spring and summer, nothing thrills my culinary head more than all the plump aliums with their green stems attached and all of it edible. They draw me to cooking a Puglian onion torta, filled with soft onions, anchovies, and black olives, a thing sort of like a big, square calzone.

I look forward to the appearance of sour cherries in late spring every year. Their color is just amazing, so deep and shiny. A great lipstick shade for us Italian-American girls. I always make some sort of crostata with them, adding an herb, maybe thyme, that underscores their sweet-savory personality. I love their beauty in a Campari spritz. Or plopped into a Manhattan. And try roasting these cherries in a little olive oil and a splash of port and then spooning them over a grilled duck breast. And here’s another thought, why don’t you buy yourself a cherry pitter? They only cost a few bucks. Even if you only use it once a year, these things really work and make your life so much sweeter.

What an exciting time of year to be a cook.