Farmers Market Salad

Get all the very best local and seasonal produce at your farmers market and create your very own farmers-market-salad-adventure! What is local and seasonal obvi changes based on where you are and when! This is more of a blueprint than a recipe, to empower you, so you too can make your very own customized farmers-market-salad-adventure!!!

This blueprint/idea for this farmers-market-salad-adventure goes like this: go to the farmers market, get all the veggie/produce goodness that tickles your fancy, prep it all (most likely separately), arrange it on a board/tray/baking sheet, serve it alongside of a bowl of greens, either dressed or with the dressing on the side (it’s a personal preference kinda thang thinks me. But if ya prefer dressed then only dress right before serving) and voila! There ya have your make-your-very-own-farmers-market-salad adventure! All add-ons are welcome too!

Why this Farmers Market Salad Recipe Works

• Easily adaptable! If it’s a seasonal fruit or veggie, it can be part of this salad idea/recipe!
• Serving size is flexi! Quantity can easily be halved or doubled or quartered or quadrupled… ya get the idea.
• Can be an appetizer or the main meal! Make the salad as light or as hearty as you’d like!
• Celebrates the best of the season’s bounty! Fruit and veggies, at the peak of their season, are busting with their very best and juiciest flavor!
• Doubles as a center piece! It’s a salad meant to be shared and fawned over… a delight for the eyes and mouth!

It’s the salad that can be anything you want it to be!!! But I’m asking that ya get the very best quality of seasonal ingredients that you can! Because they’re the stars of this salad!

I’ve made this salad as a finger food app to welcome my dinner party guests and also as the main course when I had just one or a few folks over. I’ve also had this be the entire dinner. Prefer to serve it as a side? That works too! It can be the star of the meal or play a supporting role. Either way… it will delight and SHINE!

What is a Salad Anyways?

The dictionary definition is: a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.

Produce can steamed, grilled, roasted, sautéed, sliced, diced, minced, raw, cooked, you name it! Served spicy or salty or plain or warm or cold. It’s a mix n’match salad produce party kinda situation.

We want a mix of textures and flavors. Some with be soft, some will be crunchy, some will be chewy, and some will be somewhere in between it all.

Want some dairy? Add cheese! Want some sweetness? Add fresh or dried fruit! Want some animal protein? Add soft- or hard-boiled eggs, prosciutto or other cold cuts, chicken, steak, ya name it! Want some grains? Add ‘em too! Beans! Go for it! Especially like if these look like these Scarlet Runners below. It’s your own salad adventure and all is fair game! I suggest always finishing with a bowl of greens filled with fresh herbs and a dressing with some bright acidic tang (not pictured in the final farmers-market-salad-adventure shot).

Stoked to make your very own customized version, based on what looks best at a farmers market near you?!?!  Good! Now let’s play at the farmers market and make this adventure-of-a-salad-situation!

How to Make this Farmers Market Salad Recipe

I’m going to wall you though the version I just made, step-by-step. This was a winer version in LA. Think lots of root veggies at the market this time of year, brassicas, still some berries cause its SoCal, and spring alliums cause SoCal too.  I share lots of other variations of this blueprint/idea/recipe I’ve done throughout the seasons via images. Hope it inspires ya to go to the farmers market, with a blueprint, and make your very-own-customized-farmers-market-salad-adventure!!!

YAYA for eating local and seasonal!!!

The recipe is to share how I prep/cook everything. You can make the prep as involved or as simple as you want it to be. Generally, serving the produce raw (which I do more around summer) makes for easier prep.
The farmers market bounty I started with is on the left and the finished farmers-market-salad-adventure on the right. Not all produce made it to the ingredient shot (dear teeny tiny baby butternut squash, artichokes, romanesco and avocados; I love and appreciate you very much. Please do not take not making your way onto my ingredient shot personal in any way 🙂 and the sprouted broccoli on the left was part of the farmers market haul but for a different dinner and didn't make it's way onto the finished farmers-market-salad-adventure.

Starting at the top left we have: flowering broccolini, purple Brussels sprouts, baby carrots, purple baby artichokes, radishes, spring onions, purple cauliflower, red little gems, pink potatoes and garlic.
To note: not all the bounty made it onto this board. This image was taking on a baking sheet and was the exact sheet I used to serve the final dish. Yep a baking sheet. No fancy pants tray required.
Let’s check out all the steps that went into making it along the way.
Roast the butternut squash:

I roast them all cut side up... just flipped one over for the pic!

Up next: roast the spring onions in lots of olive oil, salt and pepper. Used this spring onion flavored olive oil in the dressing.

Up next: baby carrots! Mine were truly teeny tiny baby and I left them whole, with their green tops and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. And yessss... leaves these green tops on. too! They are totally edible and delicious. As are the green tops of all root veggies!

Up next: roast pink potatoes! But any color of potatoes will work. I thinly sliced these and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Up next: roast brussel sprouts. I roasted them all cut side down. Just flipped them for the pic!

Up next: sauté radishes. These I cut in half lengthwise, left the green tops on sautéed with olive oil, butter salt and pepper and added a splash of vinegar and topped with za'atar. And yessss... leaves the green tops on! They are totally edible and delicious.

Up next: braise then roast the broil cauliflower and romanesco. This was the most involved veggie since I chose to  braise in some white wine goodness then roast on high heat and finish under broiler for that perfect char. Such an involved brassica process is not necessary.

Next up: thinly sliced some raw veggies and fruit! Including radishes, Chioggia beets and kumquats.

Veggies added to the board that are not pictured: thinly sliced chioggia beets and kumquats, avocado sprinkled with gomasioa, whole roasted heads of garlic, lettuce and dressing on the side.

This make-your-very-own-farmers-market-salad-adventure appears at my dinner parties throughout the year. Always changing with the season. Always delighting with what produce is currently shining. What pretty produce will make its way onto your very own farmers-market-salad-adventure?! And if ya haven’t picked up the hint yet... your answer should be changing with the seasons too!
I get asked all the time what my favorite dish to make it. My answer: take me to a farmer’s market anywhere in the world and cooking based on what I find, that’s local and seasonal to where I am, is my very favorite dish to make at that time! I prefer to start with the ingredients and pick the dish from there instead of the other way around.

Check out out just how stunning my farmers market bounty is!!! These were all used to create a farmers-market-salad-adventure!

Cooks Tips
• When possible, buy local and organic produce.
• Quality matters! Get the very best of each ingredient you can get your hands on.
• Pick a range of textures and flavors for a more interesting farmers market salad adventure.
• Serving size can easily vary.
• If you are brining this to a potluck, assemble it on a rimmed baking sheet and just cover it up, very tightly, with plastic wrap!

Here's a version of this farmers-market-salad-adventure I made in the middle of summer:

To see more summer variations, check out these Summer Salad Ideas.
Here's a version of this farmers-market-salad-adventure I made at the beginning of fall. Yep.... we still have corn at the market in early fall in Cali.

And here's a version made once fall was in full swing!

And sometimes I make it with a piece of salmon in the middle!

To see more variations including salmon, check out this Salmon Rainbow Party Salad Board.

Farmers Market Bounty!

All ya need to need to make this salad really, really, *really* good is.... starting with really good farmers market fresh ingredients! That's it! I LOVE farmers market fresh bounty!!! Let me show ya some of my favorite farmers market bounty hauls:

Warning: there's about to be a farmers market fresh bounty explosion of images in your life! Hope they inspire ya to get your tushy to the farmers market, get your own local and seasonal haul, prep it and arrange decoratively on a board and enjoy with friends!

See an ingredient and the market that you don't recognize and it intrigues you? Add it too! That's what I did with these bulls blood micro greens:

Let's make waves in the kitchen!!!

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Farmers Market Salad

Get all the very best local and seasonal produce at your farmers market and create your very own farmers-market-salad-adventure! I’m gonna walk ya through just how to do so!

Prep Time35 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Appetizer, Brunch, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine: Californian

Servings: 6

Author: Daniela Gerson

Ingredients

Roasted Baby Butternut Squash

• 3 baby butternut squashes
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter olive oil, or a combo
• 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon of chili flakes
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Olive Oil Spring Onions

• 2 bunches of spring onions
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Flaky sea salt

Baby Carrots

• 1 bunch of baby carrots if using larger carrots, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Flaky sea salt

Potatoes

• 1 pound potatoes thinly sliced about 1/8 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Flaky sea salt

Brussel Sprouts

• 1 pound of brussels sprouts trimmed and split in half
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Flaky sea salt

Radishes

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch of radishes with their tops, halved lengthwise
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Splash of white or red vinegar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon of za’atar
• Flaky sea salt

Brassicas ~ Romanesco & Cauliflower

• 3 cups dry white wine
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 5 cups of water
• 1 lemon juiced
• Sugar
• Bay leaf
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Baby Romanesco & Cauliflower about 3 pounds total – can use full size brassicas too

Whole Roasted Garlic

• 1 of more heads of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil per head of garlic
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Other Salad Ingredients

• ½ pound of thinly sliced radishes
• ½ pound of thinly sliced Chioggia beets any kind of beet can work + roasting them just like the potatoes is also an option
• 3 avocadoes cut in half, with olive oil, flaky sea salt and gomasio
• Handful of thinly sliced kumquats
• Lettuce
• Make a Vinaigrette!

Instructions

• For the butternut squash: preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange squash, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Brush each with butter and/or olive oil, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili flakes. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
• For the spring onions: preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange onions in a baking dish (trim tops if needed to fit) and drizzle with olive oil, tossing onions until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30min, until bulbs are tender, and tops are golden brown. Reserve onion-infused oil to use for your salad dressing. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
• For the carrots, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place carrots on a rimmed baking sheet, toss them with the olive oil until evenly coated and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-30 minutes (exact timing will depend on size of carrots) until soft and beginning to caramelize. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
• For the potatoes, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, toss them with the olive oil until evenly coated, spread them on a single layer, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them for 30-35 minutes, until golden and crispy, flipping them over once halfway through roasting. Set aside.
• For the brussels sprouts, preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Place sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet, toss them with olive oil until evenly coated, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and arrange them all cut side down. Roast for about 20 minutes, until tender on the inside, crispy on the outside and deeply browned. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
• For the baby Romanesco & Cauliflower: preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Bring wine, olive oil, water, lemon juice, sugar, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to a boil in a large pot. Add the Romanesco and/or cauliflower, reduce heat and summer, turning occasionally for about 15-20 minutes, until fork tender. Using a slotted spoon or mesh spider, transfer Romanesco and cauliflower to a rimmed baking sheet, draining well. Roast for about 15ish minutes then finish under the broiler until your desired level of char is reached.
• For the garlic: preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using your fingers, peel off the loose, papery outer layers around the head of garlic. Trim about ¼ - ½ inch off the top of the head to expose the garlic cloves. Place garlic head with exposed cloves on a piece aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap up the foil around the garlic head. Roast for about 40minutes, until the cloves feel soft when pressed and are lightly browned. Set aside.
• For the radishes: heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering, add the radishes and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, until radishes are tender, and greens have wilted, add vinegar and butter. Turn off the heat, sprinkle with za’atar and flaky seas salt. Set aside.
• To assemble the salad, use a large baking sheet/tray/cutting board or platter and group each ingredient together* in a decorative manner. Sprinkle with toppings such fresh herbs, flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, gomasio, seeds, nuts, and/or drizzle a little salad dressing over it all. Either with lettuce on the platter or in a bowl on the side, dressed or undressed. Serve with tongs so each guest (and yourself) can easily make their very-own-customized-farmers-market-salad-adventure.

  *if it’s more your jam to mix every ingredient together go right ahead and you do you. However, guests can’t make-their-very-own-farmers-market-salad-adventure as easily if each item isn’t grouped together. 

Notes

Cooks Tips
• When possible, buy local and organic produce.
• Quality matters! Get the very best of each ingredient you can get your hands on.
• Pick a range of textures and flavors for a more interesting farmers market salad adventure.
• Serving size can easily vary.
• If you are brining this to a potluck, assemble it on a rimmed baking sheet and just cover it up, very tightly, with plastic wrap!