Spring is back, and so are farmers markets. And that means a whole new chance to make friends with strange and unusual vegetables. Or to rehabilitate some old familiars.
The number of farmers markets has more than doubled during the past decade, topping more than 8,000 in 2013. Matching that proliferation is equally wild growth in the variety of produce sold at them. Heirloom tomatoes and carrots in funky colors? That’s just the start. Think rainbow-spectrum radishes, unusual peas, beans and legumes; gooseberries and quince.
But trying something new, whether it’s an unfamiliar vegetable or an exotic preparation, can be intimidating. The best advice is to start slow.
If you like arugula, branch out to watercress. In baby form, it’s a perfect salad green, a sturdier, even more peppery alternative to the more ubiquitous arugula. It also makes a stellar pesto, says Diana Henry, author most recently of the cookbook “A Change of Appetite” (Octopus Publishing, 2014).