Wednesday, Mar. 25 2009 @ 3:47PM
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| elraigon.com |
Spring is here, and the city's farmers markets are brimming with fecund, fragrant, Technicolor abondanza: needle-thin asparagus fresh from the Delta; stalks of Pescadero rhubarb and Half Moon Bay snap peas; a dazzling array of Watsonville basil; loquats and fava beans and haricots vert from the Central Valley; the cantaloupe, avocados and Valencia oranges of the south; Sebastopol currants and Santa Rosa zucchini fresh as a Wine Country sunrise.
So what does one do with all this sustainably farmed opulence? Start things off with a couple of avocados that give just a little when you press into their skins. Mash them up with a seeded, chopped up tomato, half a chopped onion, two canned green chilies (also chopped up), the juice of half a lime, some minced cilantro and salt to your taste for the best guacamole around. Serve with chips and cerveza on the fire escape just about the time the sun disappears behind the treetops.
El Raigon, the Argentine steak house in North Beach, serves the tastiest asparagus in town. The kitchen procures the greenest, slenderest A. officianalis available, bastes the stalks with a subtly tangy marinade and grills them over the same glowing wood and charcoal that enhances their bife de chorizo. The result is a glistening pyramid of crisp, lightly charred flora sweet and fragrant with woodsmoke and its own uniquely pungent essence. Prepare them yourself on the barbecue with a simple olive oil-based marinade that won't detract from the vegetable's fresh, pure flavor.