The Greenmarket Cookbook : Recipes, Tips, and Lore from the World Famous Urban Farmers' Market (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For more than 20 years, urban greenmarkets have brought farm-fresh produce and other top-of-the-line edibles to an appreciative public. The Greenmarket Cookbook celebrates this movement by offering a season-by-season exploration of Manhattan's Union Square greenmarket along with 100 recipes. Through words and pictures, readers are introduced to veteran market vendors like Alvina Frey, "the bean lady"; discover what produce is available when; and become acquainted, via comprehensive charts, with a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Those who regularly shop greenmarkets will welcome this thorough introduction to the life of a typical example, and everyone will enjoy the book's useful tips. The recipes are the work of Manhattan chefs and greenmarket-goers like Michael Romano of the Union Square Cafe and of market suppliers like "Tomato Tim" Stark. Stark's particularly delicious Sweet Pepper Sauce for Pasta is just one of a number of standout dishes that include Roasted Corncakes Stuffed with Chives, Fricassee of Fish and Shellfish with Wild Mushrooms and Braised Greens, and Roasted Pork Loin with a Walnut-Savory Crust. Recipes for sweets include the likes of Maple Butter-Baked Bosc Pear Slices and Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote--great seasonal delights. With a glossary of the foods featured and 150 photos, many in color, the book provides a compelling slice of urban culinary life. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

The assistant director of the Greenmarket program, Patraker shares his zest for home-grown fruit, vegetables and produce in this celebration of the successful Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. The program began in the 1970s when Barry Benepe, founder of Greenmarket, wanted to find a way to sustain farmers in New York's Hudson Valley by supplying fresh produce directly to urban customers. Recipes, organized seasonally, are fairly simple, relying more on the taste of fresh produce than on culinary inventiveness, but there are a few exceptions: Chile Pumpkin Soup, Marinated Kermit Eggplants with Japanese Flavors and Crimson Chocolate Cake made with beets and carrots. Patraker and Schwartz use anecdotes to remind shoppers what a pleasure it can be to walk down the aisles choosing among greens, including mizuna and lamb's quarter, or just inhaling the scents of lavender and lilac. Their comprehensive lists of the various vegetable and fruit varieties (with names for tomatoes such as banana legs, purple calabash and black pear) will delight cooks and poets alike. This inspirational book may compel city dwellers to visit their local farmers' market and go home laden with chervil, savoy cabbage, hen of the woods (a type of wild mushroom) and quince, or slice some heirloom tomatoes and Aji peppers for an easy salad with feta cheese in summer. 150 color photographs by Marry Kim. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670881341
• ISBN-13: 978-0670881345
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,199,303 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous & practical guide, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

An inviting, beautifully designed book about the Union Square Greenmarket, New York City's oldest and biggest farmers' market.

The author gives you the inside scoop on what goes on behind the scenes at a farmers' market. I loved the anecdotes about the farmers, chefs and the assorted characters that populate the place (some of which I know as a shopper).

The book is separated by season, and contains detailed charts on the different varieties of produce available, such as tomatoes (varieties include banana legs, green zebra, and purple calabash), peppers, apples, herbs, etc., as well as when and where to find them, and how to prepare them.

There are lots of unusual recipes by local chefs who frequent the market, assorted food writers, etc., which are quite creative.

The author's wife did the photography, which is stunning. You really get a sense of some of the characters of the market and the lushness and bounty of the products available. The book is very nicely designed - it could be a keepsake, coffee-table type book, or a well-thumbed addition to a collection of cookbooks.

As someone who regularly relies on this market, I think the book is a great practical guide to it, as well as providing background on its history and stories on the individual farmers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars all the seasons are full of flavor, June 19, 2000

By	Wendy (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

At first glance this book is beautifully laid out with sections divided by the seasonal produce that you can obtain at the greenmarket and recipes to go along. Incredibly handy for someone who has been lured by a cookbook's recipes only to find that the ingredients are out of season. Not only do you get the recipes, but also a wonderful history lesson on the greenmarket and mini interviews with the "market people." Straight forward, uncomplicated, with the accent on fresh delicious produce right from the farm. But if you are unable to make it to the market many of the ingredients are also available in your local grocery store. A great addition to any cooks library.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars history book *and* cookbook, February 17, 2002

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a fun introduction to a little piece of New York's history, the famous Urban Farmers' Market, as well as a handy guide to cooking with produce that is in season. If you use fresh fruits and vegetables in your cooking, you are undoubtedly aware that, while some foods may be available 365 days a year, they are usually most flavorful when they are grown and ripened naturally. Charts help make sense of the many varieties of produce available, and recipes are organized around the calendar, so you may find 'Red & Green Fresh Vegetables with Pasta' for summer, and 'Bread and Cabbage Soup' for winter. Each of four seasonal chapters lists the produce, flowers, dairy and meat available during that season. In general these are basic recipes that can be made by the beginner cook.

My only complaint is that, with all the gorgeous photographs of the people and the market, there are no pictures of the finished dishes, a feature that I appreciate in a cookbook. Otherwise this is a great, and fun, cookbook with good recipes.