I love Greenpoint. The reasons are many but on weekends, it comes down to this: two farmer’s markets (one Saturday, one Sunday), both walking distance from our apartment. The Saturday McCarren Park Greenmarket is more commercial, with well-known vendors like Red Jacket Orchards and Ronnybrook Farms. It’s often crowded and the earlier you get there, the better the pickin’. It’s not necessarily the most scenic market either, so I prefer to get in and get out.
On Sundays, McGolrick Park is my happy place.
I get a coffee, sit in the park and eventually make my way over to the market. With lesser-known vendors, I love the grass roots feel. I say hello to Barry of Barry’s Tempeh, sample yogurt from Sohha Savory Yogurt (try their za’atar seasoning, I put it on roasted carrots, avocado toast, etc.) and I eventually get around to picking out the week’s fruit, veggies and farm fresh eggs.
Vendors aside, my favorite part of going to any outdoor market is feeling inspiration from what’s growing. It’s the summer apricots, cherries, garlic scapes, tomatoes and berries that set my heart a flutter. And last weekend the strawberries and rhubarb made a serious impression. Serious enough to inspire an all-butter crust strawberry rhubarb pie.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
(all butter crust recipe here)
Filling:
2 bushels of strawberries (the smaller, the sweeter)
5 stalks of rhubarb
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of flour
1 tbsp lime juice
zest from half a lime
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
While the dough is chilling, start your filling by cutting strawberries in half (or fourths if they are big) and removing stems. Cut rhubarb into 1/2 inch chunks. Combine fruit with sugar, flour, lime juice and zest. stir and let sit while rolling out dough.
When rolling out the dough, be sure to flour the surface and rotate the dough while rolling. once the dough is around 1/4 inch thin, roll it onto the pin and fold onto pie dish. Center and trim edges. Repeat the process for the top crust. Cut into 7 thick strips and place on top of the filling, spaced around an inch apart. Lattice the crust.
Brush the top crust with one egg yolk and a splash of cold water, sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for the first 15 minutes at 400, then lower the temperature to 350 for 40 minutes, until top crust is golden brown.
