Are You Walking On By Produce Treats?
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Bonnie Fishman / San Francisco Bay Area
Ever hear the song, “Walk on By,” the 1964 Dionne Warwick-Burt Bacharach chart-topper that told the story of romantic heartbreak? It is also a useful message to remember when you’re shopping.
Picture yourself in the produce aisles of your favorite grocery store or farmers’ market. Perhaps armed with a shopping list, you survey the usual fruits and veggies, tossing them in your basket with reckless abandon– carrots, celery, broccoli, apples, bananas, berries.
Like most of us, you “walk on by” the weird stuff that you don’t recognize or even know their names. “Why would I buy that, what would I do with it, how do I cook it?” But much of this “odd” produce is commonplace in other food cultures and countries.
An example of this happened when my good friend Margie and I backpacked in Europe in summer of 1973. During our six-week adventure, we befriended a Belgian student while traveling in Luxembourg. Margie and I bought a watermelon (imported from Israel) as a refreshing snack to take to a local lake.
On the dock, we took out a trusty Swiss army knife and hacked into the melon. Our new friend was aghast. “What is that? How do you eat it? What do you do with the seeds?” We of course showed him the classy way of spitting them as far as you could. Watermelon was odd in his culture. The point is it was a strange fruit that he may have just “walked on by.”
Sometimes, that’s not a mistake. Many of us do that with dragon fruit, indigenous to Southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. I’ve walked by dragon fruit a zillion times. I bought one recently. I peeled it, cut it open and admired the unusual center, white with small black dots. To be honest, after tasting it, I still say “walk on by.” Ick!
Another strange fruit that was introduced to the United States market in the ’60s was the kiwi from New Zealand. Frieda Caplan, who began her own produce distribution company in Southern California in the ’50s, made kiwis popular in this country along with many other “walk on by” fruits and vegetables.
I remember when I first saw kiwis in the late ’70s when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for a couple of years. I thought it looked like a blimp-shaped brown fuzzy ball, almost animal-like. I bought one at a fruit stand, not knowing what it was. When I cut it open and saw the bright green flesh, I was floored! The tangy flavor was wonderful. I soon began using kiwis in fruit salads and on fresh fruit tarts in my first store, Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. in the early ’80s.
My sister, Marcia, is much braver than me when it comes to trying unusual ingredients. I think that’s because she spent five weeks in Southeast Asia in 1973 plus has visited nearly 40 other countries, which exposed her to different cuisines. She loves to experiment with produce that we didn’t eat when growing up.
Last weekend at our local farmers market, there was a rare sighting of little baby turnips. Yes, full grown turnips are plentiful even though I never think of cooking them. Marcia sautéed them in oil until browned. They were divine!
In my search for vegetables that many of us “walk on by,” I’ve noticed that a fair number of those veggies are in the root vegetable category. I stood in front of that section of the produce department, and staring back at me were rutabagas, celeriac (celery root), turnips, and sun chokes. These roots are great as a replacement for potatoes and are good mashed or puréed, sliced and put into gratins, and hearty soups. Hmmm. Should I buy one and try it?
I did just that. I bought a yuca root, also known as cassava, and made lovely appetizer yuca fritters, out of it.
I am pairing it today with tomatillo sauce. Tomatillos are also an unusual vegetable lurking in the produce section. They are in the tomato family but have papery husks on the outside, green flesh on the inside and remain firm when ripe. After you remove the husk, you’ll notice how sticky the outer skin is. Tomatillos are quite acidic, making it a good contrast with fritters.
I would highly recommend buying frozen yuca. The fresh root is difficult to peel and cut. Whether you use fresh or frozen, after cooking it, removing the inner hard core is a bit tricky. You’ll be left with mushy flesh. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be like that.
Live a little and try not to always “walk on by!”
Yuca Fritters
Yield: 18-20 fritters
1 1/2 lb. fresh or 1 lb. frozen yuca root
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. finely sliced scallions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 lg. eggs
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3-4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
If using fresh yuca: peel the root and cut into large chunks. Put them in a medium saucepan covered with salted water. Bring to a boil; turn down to a low boil and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain; cool.
If using frozen yuca, follow package cooking instructions. Drain; cool.
While the fresh or frozen yuca is cooking, sauté the scallions and garlic in the oil in a small skillet. Cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes, or until softened. Cool.
When the yuca is cool enough to handle, pull the hard inner stem out of each piece; discard. Place the yuca in a medium bowl. Add the cooked scallions and garlic, the eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Mash well with a potato masher until the mixture is smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
In a large skillet over high heat, put in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, scoop out rounded tablespoons of the batter and place in the pan. Flatten with the back of the spoon. Do not overcrowd, the fritters should not be touching. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Drain on paper toweling. Add more oil to the pan as needed and continue cooking the fritters until the batter is gone.
To keep warm: Have oven set at 200°. Lay fritters on a cookie sheet, not overlapping and not covered. Serve with Tomatillo Sauce.
Tomatillo Sauce for Fritters
Yield: @ 2 cups
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 c. small diced onions
1 poblano pepper, cored, seeded, cut into small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. fresh tomatillos, skin peeled and cored, cut into 1/2” dice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 c. fresh chopped cilantro
In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, cooke the onions, poblano, and garlic until onions are translucent. Add the tomatillos. Sauté with the vegetables until they begin to soften. Cover, cook until the tomatillos are soft. Season with salt and pepper; adjust seasoning to taste.
Using an immersion blender or a traditional blender, purée the sauce until it is smooth. Blend in the cilantro.
Bonnie Fishman attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Later, she owned and operated Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. and Bonnie’s Kitchen and Catering in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She has taught cooking for over 35 years and created hundreds of recipes. She is now living in Northern California.
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