My Edmonds Food: Farmers Market highlights and fresh spring roll recipe

Use fresh Farmers Market vegetables to create fresh spring rolls. (Photos by Lara Alexander)

By Lara Alexander

Edmonds Farmers Market vendors Linda Martiny and Mike Donnelly, of Martiny Livestock, raise Suffolk lamb and Angus beef for market, pastured spring through fall. Besides the many cuts of meat available in their market booth, they are now offering unique, high quality sausages. They have teamed with David Pearlstein, a former Microsofty who now operates his own high-quality sausage company, Link Lab Artistan Meats. Linda calls him a “Sausage Artist” who hand spins every link that he makes from Linda and Mike’s lamb and beef.

Currently, Merguez (a lamb sausage found in the South of France and North Africa) and Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic are available. Plans for new sausage recipes include Lamb with Pie Cherry when the cherries come in season, and later, Lamb with Apple. Link Lab will also be making a special shaped lamb and beef “patty” called Frikadellen from Martiny meats. “As a farmer who spends many hours caring for our livestock, I appreciate the time and care he takes to produce delicious, handcrafted products from our lamb and beef,” says Linda. “It’s almost impossible to find a small batch processor with his creativity and skill.  I know of no other, and feel fortunate to have him make our sausage.”

After picking up sausages, head to the Frog Song Farm booth for foraged mushrooms, plenty of fresh herbs, and a variety of greens including baby bok choy and tender winter kale. Because of the cold spring, many summer produce items will be delayed this year. This week, fresh spring rolls were on the menu in my house a couple of times, and a lively alternative to yet another salad. Feel free to use what vegetables you have this week – bell peppers, cucumber, zucchini – slicing everything very thin or shredding them on a grater.

Rice paper rounds

Farmers Market Fresh Spring Roll

6 rice paper rounds
1 cup of rice noodles, cooked to package instructions and rinsed with cold water
1 bunch of tender greens, such as lettuce or baby spinach
1 bunch of a stronger green, such as baby bok choy, dandelion greens, young kale
1 small handful of basil or cilantro
2 stalks of green onion
1 raw beet, shredded on a box grater
1 raw carrot, shredded on a box grater
1 small knob of ginger, shredded on a box grater

1 cup of sweet chili dipping sauce

optional: smoked salmon, cooked prawns, cooked chicken breast

Prep all of your vegetable ingredients first: wash and dry the greens, thinly slice the green onions, grate the beets and carrots and ginger. Mix the grated ginger into the grated beets.

Working one at a time, soak the rice paper in freshly boiled water for 5 seconds until soft. Remove from the hot water, place on a plate. Starting with the greens, layer a bit of each ingredient in the center of the rice paper. Add the noodles and some smoked salmon, cooked prawns or small pieces of chicken if you have opted to use one of them. Fold the ends up around the filling and then begin rolling from one side to the other, like a burrito.

Serve right away, or the rice paper will become stiff over time. Serve with the sweet chili sauce for dipping.

A culinary adventurer, Lara Alexander grows, cooks and writes about food from her home in Edmonds. You can read about her garden and kitchen fun on the blog Food-Soil-Thread.

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