Po-tay-toe; Po-tah-toe (Farmers Market Tapas)

I think I just tasted a potato for the first time. Of course, I’ve had potatoes before – in fact (as my business travel companions know) one of my favorite “go-to meals” is a salad and baked potato. But last night we had a simple dinner featuring a number of the goodies I found during my first trip to the Carrboro Farmers Market, and low and behold the star of the show was the lowly potato.

I hardly recognized them as Yukon Golds ; still covered with earth, and hardly picture perfect. A good scrub, a thick slice, plus a little olive oil, salt and pepper rendered a crispy yet fluffy bite reminiscent of tapas you might have in Spain. Without the jet lag.

The Saturday morning Farmers Market in Carrboro, which is just outside of Chapel Hill, is like no other market I’ve been to. I had to circle it once, just to get my bearings. The little stands are staffed by farm families and what appear to be their employees. Most tend to specialize in one type of item – cheese from local cows and goats (unbelievable), late season tomatoes, root vegetables, etc. Everyone is knowledgeable, friendly and takes pride in what they are selling.

As late summer merges with fall, the colors of the market are particularly vivid this time of year. Our simple dinner last night reflected this fact. The following is not so much a recipe, but a demonstration of what can be done with amazingly fresh ingredients, a little olive oil, and a grill pan. I hope it inspires you to visit your local farmers market sometime soon, and create a meal that comes from the soil near you.

Enjoy.

Grill-Pan Yukon Golds:

Depending on size, for two people you’ll want two or three Yukon Gold potatoes. Wash, slice to about ¼ inch rounds, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Grill on an inside grill pan until crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Local Sausage Bites

Keep in mind, we are living in the “land of the pig.” Two stands carried their own version of sausage. The one I bought was slightly spicy. I formed small balls and simply grilled them off on the same pan as the potatoes, keeping them separate so the fat didn’t intermix with the potatoes. Not that it wouldn’t have been tasty, but potatoes in pork fat is not exactly the healthiest thing in the world. Once the balls were browned, we drained them on paper towels. Just a few per person added the spicy bite the meal needed.

Grilled tomatoes

I found the coolest little tomatoes – the shape of a Roma tomato, but abut the size of your thumb. We sliced these in half, dusted with a scant amount of salt, pepper and fresh thyme and placed them cut side down on yet another part of the grill pan. These were cooked until they were slightly caramelized.

Caramelized onions and peppers

In a separate pan I sautéed slices ½ of a red onion and ½ of a roasted red bell pepper (I’m sure I’ll post more about these later – they roast them up for you as you wait!) with a scant bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and yes, fresh thyme. I kept this going until the mixture was very soft and slightly caramelized.

Arugula salad

I found a vendor with the youngest and most tender arugula I’ve ever seen, so I bought a bag. Rinsed and patted dry, these spicy leaves were tossed in the juice of half a lemon and a very slight drizzle of olive oil. This was a great complement to all of the dishes.

Dust over the top of all of the dishes

A light grating of locally made asiago cheese.

To serve

Create a plate with a bit of this and a bit of that. Crusty bread would have been nice, but we didn’t have any and it really was not necessary. For true tapas, you’d also make a garlicky mayonnaise for the potatoes.