A perfect destination for the first berries of the season

We all anticipate the start of Oregon strawberry season, right? Well they’re here at last. Yay.

Problem is, the ones we’ve eaten are sort of, well, sour.

Not yay.

But no worries, we’ve got a recipe that makes the best of tart berries, by turning them into an actual salad. We toss them with an agro-dulce sort of dressing – some sweet from orange juice and a little sweet-sour from balsamic vinegar — and then let them macerate for just a bit.

The sugar draws out juices from the berries and it all balances into a tasty mix that pirouettes between sweet and tart – a perfect way to start an Oregon spring meal.

Strawberries in Peppery Balsamic Vinaigrette With Fresh Mint

Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon finely sliced fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound fresh Oregon strawberries, hulled and sliced

In a bowl that’s big enough to hold the strawberries, whisk together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and cardamom until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the mint leaves, and then whisk in the oil a few drops at a time until dressing is creamy and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Add the strawberries to the bowl of vinaigrette and toss gently. Let berries macerate at least 15 minutes before serving, but not more than 1 hour.

From Martha Holmberg, originally developed for and published in FOODday

Yes, Portland has cemented its position as a swine-loving, cracklin’-crunching, squeal-munching city – some would rename it Porkland – with a fabulous showing at Cochon 555, Sunday evening at The Governor Hotel.

This is the second year that the traveling event – which is intended to raise awareness for heritage breed pigs and family-owned farms — has come to Portland. The other cities on the tour this year are Napa, New York, Boston, Stillwater, OK, (don’t hear much about Stillwater these days…), Atlanta, Des Moines, DC, Seattle, and San Francisco – with the winners of each city competing for king or queen of pork at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen.

Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana

The 555 conceit comes from “5 chefs, 5 pigs and 5 winemakers.” Our 5 chefs were Naomi Pomeroy/Beast, Gabriel Rucker/Le Pigeon, Andy Ricker/Pok Pok, Jason Barwikowski/Olympic Provisions, and our own Cathy Whims/Nostrana, who turned a Duroc pig into about 5 delicious dishes.

Event-goers washed down the fantastic pork creations (including an herb-laminated handkerchief pasta draped over the most adamantly luscious Bolognese you could ever imagine, from Cathy) with mighty fine drinks, including beer from Hood River’s awesome Double Mountain and wines from Bethel Heights, Soter, Elk Cove, Domaine Drouhin, and Domaine Serene.

Adding to the fascinating/crazy/cool/educational aspect of the event (yes, it was all those things) was a tour de force butchering of a whole Berkshire hog by SF butcher Ryan Farr. One minute, a pig was stretched out on the table, the proverbial nose to tail still connected, then about an hour later were enough tidy and tasty-looking cuts of meat to fill a butcher case for a month. Too bad the room wasn’t set up better so that more people could see and hear this craftsman at work.

Chef Adam Sappington of The Country Cat

And thank god we had another meat guru on the program after Ryan, namely butcher boy Adam Sappington from The Country Cat. He had roasted a whole pig, which he deftly dispatched into succulent portions, served with cheesey mashed potatoes. And biscuits. And BBQ sauce. Now, where’s my Double Mountain…

p.s. To get the full flavor and scope of the event, read up on the “incident” that ocurred later in the evening:

–from Martha Holmberg

My favorite sound in early spring isn’t the cheerful chatter of birds, tho that’s nice, but rather the clack-clack of wooden Portland Farmers Market tokens being counted into a ziplock bag for me at the info booth. I never have cash so I always start my market morning with a handy swipe of my debit card—the tokens make me feel like I’m getting all that wonderful stuff for free, except, um, I’m not.

My first market shop was this past Saturday, and while I felt bad about missing opening day, I felt righteous as I huddled against the highly unpleasantly driving rain and did my shopping.

Yet all was not dreary, the food is fantastic and makes me so happy. And the market has expanded, too! I’m curious to see how the extra space plays out once the crowds return – I will love being able to stroll rather than rugby-scrum the aisles in June.

My lettuce, though not really from the farmers market--for illustrative purposes only!

My score? I start with my ritual breakfast of a crab cocktail from Linda Brand Crab (hey, where’s the friendly guy with the good blond highlights? Hope he’s back later this season). Then I bought:

-       Coppa roast from Tails n Trotters, (plus a couple small pieces of pork butt that are in the freezer awaiting my command. I swear that the fat does taste like hazelnuts, which is the main food source for the hogs).

-       Nettles from the Osmogaia guy, which turned into a shockingly delicious soup with some spinach and a potato.

-       Young and lovely lettuce from him too, that I dolloped with the following pretty green dressing (I didn’t measure, so use your improv skills):

In a mortar and pestle or food processor, mash an anchovy or two, about a half a small clove of garlic, some grated lemon zest, lots of salt. Add some lemon juice, then start mashing in some ripe avocado – I used a half a medium one to make dressing for 4. Once you get a thickish puree, start working in a bit of buttermilk. When you have a nice ranch-dressing consistency, taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and lemon and a shake or two of hot sauce. If you have nice tender herbs such as parsley, chervil, chives, or dill, you could throw in a sprinkling of them, too.