Tables burst with autumn harvest specialties: pumpkins, apples, kale, and cider. I think of these items as delicious props in the theater of farmers’ markets. I finished up the baking Saturday mornings around 6:00am on my market days, trying not to clank pans too loudly as my children (sweet pre-teen part-time workers) groaned at the hour. Quiches baked next to brownies and crunchy-crusted pumpkin pecan tarts. Cinnamon rolls rose and perfumed the kitchen. By 8:00am, we’d boxed the pastries and chocolates with bows and loaded up the station wagon. We were set up under our tent by 9:00am when the peach farmer usually brought us coffee, and the breakfast burrito makers stoked their grills. This is The Great Barrington Farmers’ Market — still going strong (though I’m off-stage for now.) If you visit the Berkshires for fall foliage, don’t miss it, especially the bread from Berkshire Mountain Bakery or the cheese from Monterey Chevre, both long-time local favorites. Some version of this play takes place at most markets around the country – find one here for wherever you spend your October harvest days and consider offering a farmer or a baker a big cup of coffee first thing 😉

According to Consumer Reports, the promise of superior produce at farmers’ markets is legit. Organic vegetables are free of pesticides, and local produce, because it has spent less time in transit and storage, is fresher and more nutritious than what you’ll find at the supermarket. In agreement are food advocates including Tom Colicchio of Food Network fame; Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, Soda Politics; Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma. Other reporting and research from these resources conclude farmers’ markets serve the public best: Farmers’ Market Coalition, FoodTank, Oxfam, Slow Food; Yale Sustainable Food Program; Alice Waters Foundation; World Food Programme.

Where do get your harvest on: Favorite West Coast & International Farmers’ Markets

Hollywood Farmers’ Market

Santa Monica Farmers’ Market

San Francisco Ferry Building Market

Santa Barbara Farmers’ Market

Silverlake Farmers’ Market

Conde Nast Traveler’s Best Food Market List

Newsweek’s Top Ten Food Markets

Travel Channel’s Top Picks

The point of it all is to live well and enjoy the show.

PUMPKIN PECAN TART from A BAKER’S PASSPORT

At Thanksgiving, I often struggled to choose between two American classics: pumpkin pie and pecan pie, both of which are closer to tarts because they are open-faced with a single bottom crust. In this tart, they are finally together with a spice-rich pumpkin interior over a crunchy pecan crust. A layer of brown sugar pecans tops it all. For the pumpkin filling, I use a mortar and pestle to crush the cloves, and I grate the cinnamon from sticks. Fresh spices provide a surprising amount of character, and if you like a pungent pie or if you are working with powdered spices from the supermarket, you can add a little extra of your favorites.

Ingredients:

For the Pecan Tart Dough:

2 ½ cups (10 ounces) cake flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (8 ounces/2 sticks) butter

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

½ cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 cups (6 ounces) pecans, chopped

For the Pumpkin Filling:

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree* or 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

1 cup (7 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, lightly beaten

30-40 pecan halves

Time: 1–2 hours – Yield: 1 deep-dish pie – Level: medium

Instructions

• Sift the flour and salt together over a sheet of parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, vanilla bean seeds, and sugar together until lightly fluffy, 1 or 2minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, cream, and mix until they’re incorporated. Add half of the flour mixture, and mix at low speed until smooth. Add the remaining flour mixture and pecan pieces, and mix at low speed until the dough comes together. Place the dough on a heavily floured work surface (it will be sticky). Shape into a flat disc, wrap it in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate for 20 minutes until firm. Meanwhile, whisk together all the filling ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside. Preheat the oven to 325°F. On a heavily floured work surface, roll the dough to an 11-or 12-inch circle, ¼-inch thick. Fit the dough in a deep-dish pie pan, pressing the sides. (Trim the dough and save any remaining for later use or shape and bake as cookies to decorate individual pie slices at serving time.) Pour the pumpkin filling over the dough. Arrange the pecan halves over the filling. Place the pan on a baking sheet, and bake about 45–50 minutes until solid in the center with a golden-brown crust. Let cool to room temperature, slice and serve.
• *To make fresh pumpkin puree, bake 2-3 sugar pumpkins (the small variety) on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Their skins will start to turn brown and they will collapse some. Allow them to cool enough to slice them open, remove the seeds, then mash the remaining pulp. The soft, mixed pulp is pumpkin puree. Discard the skins, and rinse, salt, then bake the pumpkin seeds to use as decoration.

From the Archives:

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