Flavored pasta brings plenty to the table tastewise, so stick with a few simple ingredients. Recipe of sorts below.
We took a road trip to St. Louis last weekend. This was supposed to be a nice, chatty post about the wonderful, underrated city where I grew up and some of its unexpected delights. But things are suddenly hectic at Blue Kitchen. So today I’m just going to focus on its farmers market and one of the delights we discovered there.
Soulard Farmers Market is one of the oldest farmers markets in America and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. It’s been in continuous operation since 1838.
It’s also one of the most colorful farmers markets around. That, as much as the cheap produce to be had, made it part of more Saturdays than not when we lived there and a required stop anytime we visit now. Not manufactured colorfulness like mimes and face painters, either—I’m talking white-haired old ladies sucking down cold cans of Busch beer while doing their weekly shopping at 10 in the morning.
Besides local produce and not so local stuff [I’m assuming the bananas and kiwis I saw weren’t locally grown], you’ll find plants and cut flowers for sale; baked goods [both artisanal and otherwise]; an excellent spice shop; fresh meat; live rabbits, ducks and chickens waiting to become fresh meat; and a pet shop where live animals await a decidedly happier fate. We were happy to learn this visit that the pet shop serves as a kind of no-kill shelter. The kittens and puppies they sell aren’t from pet factories or puppy mills—they take in unwanted litters from people in the neighborhood. And they seem to do a land office business.
There are also purveyors of T-shirts; incense; sunglasses; “art” on mirrors, velvet and other, um, interesting surfaces; tiny doughnuts pumped out and fried by an ingenious little machine that not only cooks and flips them before your eyes, but also lures a steady stream of customers—and last Saturday, at least, a genius of a salesman/showman on par with Ron Popeil and Ed McMahon—Ken Baker. His demonstration of the Super-Shammy, his own invention, bordered on performance art. We bought some. If he had a website, I’d even provide a link here. But he only does business through a P.O. box in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and on QVC and the Home Shopping Network.
Increasingly making its way into this sometimes carnival atmosphere, though, are vendors catering to serious foodies. One of the most interesting is Pappardelle’s, makers of artisanal flavored pastas and sauces. Headquartered in Denver, they sell their products online and through independent vendors at farmers markets around the country. In their flat-cut dried pasta alone, they offer nearly 50 different flavors—everything from Rosemary Garlic to Tunisian Harissa, Spicy Thai and Dark Chocolate. This visit, we picked up a half-pound each of Basil Tangerine and Spinach Lemon Herb.
With big-flavored pastas like these, you want to keep the sauce simple, so it doesn’t get in the way. A little olive oil or butter, maybe some garlic or shallots—that’s all you need. Here’s what I did with the Basil Tangerine pasta to serve as a side dish along with pan seared pork chops and a mixed green salad. It’s so brainlessly simple, I can’t even call it a recipe or write it up as such. It’s just throwing a few things together.
Start a pot of water for the pasta. Zest and juice one lemon. Mince 2 large cloves of garlic. When the pasta is nearly cooked [I used the entire 1/2 pound], heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium flame. Add minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Drain pasta and toss with oil and garlic in pan. Add lemon zest and juice and toss until mixed through.
This made three generous side portions with some left over—you could easily serve four with it.
Besides Pappardelle’s, there are a number of sources for artisanal pastas. And honestly, with any quality pasta, this simple kind of treatment can work nicely, perhaps with the addition of fresh chopped herbs at the end.
What a wonderful idea, to sell pasta at a farmers’ market — and that you can buy it loose, like grains at a health food store! The flavor combinations sound amazing. I haven’t seen this at any of our Rhode Island farmers’ markets, which do have a bit of a strict rule about only selling food that is locally produced. But I’d make an exception!
Mmmh, that looks really nice! I’ll have to see whether I can find some equally exciting pasta over here and try your dish!
Simple but elegant – and absolutely delicious, I’m sure!
What a delicious type of pasta, Terry – it’s completely new to me. The dish looks extremely tasty – and the vibrant color is mouthwatering.
I hope things get lighter for you soon.
Ohm… Ohm… Ohm…
Lydia—St. Louis has other newer farmers markets that follow stricter rules regarding locally produced food. And Soulard Market began as a local only market before there was much of anything that wasn’t produced locally. As the city grew and the role of farmers diminished, it simply became a place where the people in the blue collar neighborhood just south of downtown could buy fresh food inexpensively. Today, the customer base is much more diverse, spanning all incomes and neighborhoods, and the vendors there make sure all markets are well served. That’s another thing I really like about it. Soulard Market is also one of the few places in the city where you get a sense of the city’s true ethnic diversity—you can hear many languages spoken, both among the shoppers and the vendors.
Honeybee, jenblossom and Patricia—Any quality pasta will respond nicely to this simple treatment. It almost felt like cheating that something so easy tasted so good. But Patricia, you’re right about how unusual it is and what nice subtle flavors it brought to the party. Interestingly, it tasted more powerful before it completely finished cooking and got mixed with the other ingredients.
Carolyn—As a St. Louisan, I’m sure you’ll appreciate that part of the pleasure of this pasta was the delicious memories of our St. Louis road trip it stirred up.
I adore farmer’s markets. When I walk through them, I think my heart expands. They make me happy.
I was able to attend one—albeit briefly—this past Saturday in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. I strolled in, pretending to be privy to the smells and mood of Island life, and bought some small cabbages and some garlic scapes. The latter I had tried last year, but was tickled to try again. I chopped up the stems and sauteed them; they were a huge hit!
Great, colorful photos! I would have definitely bought that pasta!
Delicious!! Beautiful photos too.
I haven’t tried (I know, I know) flavored pasta…delicious looking and simple can be best with good quality pasta. A must try!
I am happy you tried the pasta. I live in Denver so have bought it for years. They are at most of the markets here and of course they have their store. Isn’t it wonderful? You are right about keeping the sauces simple. They have lots of recipes on their website too. Since the store isn’t very handy for me, I usually stock up during the suumer and enjoy it all winter. It is so great for a quick meal!
Janelle—Visiting a farmers market when you travel is a great way to pretend, even for a moment, that you live there. For that same reason, when we go to New York, we try to stay in a hotel with a kitchenette, preferably on the upper west side near the wonderful Fairway Market. Eating a simple meal at our tiny dining table [and prepared in our laughably tiny and feral kitchen] is always special for us.
Kirsten—Do try it. So simple and so good.
Judy—Lucky you! I need to try to find a source for the Pappardelle’s pasta here in Chicago. Maybe I could browbeat, er, suggest that one of the foodie grocers here carry it.
Once again, you take something utterly simple and make it irresistable! I love the artesanal pastas that are available these days – though I’m not sure about the chocolate one. Would you consider chocolate pasta served with chicken mole? Hmmmmm….maybe…..
LOVE the description of your farmers market there – especially the white haired ladies sucking down their beer and grocery shopping in the morning!
this post just made me miss “home”! i’m from near st. louis & love the farmer’s market. now i’m near kansas city & i love the farmer’s market here too!
thanks for the bit of home 🙂
Oh, the composition in that top photo!
And black bean fettucini! Oh, my!
Obviously I have been away too long…