CHICAGO _ Matthias Merges set out for the Green City Market in Lincoln Park wondering what would pair with two tidy mounds of homemade pasta, one a fettuccine made with basil from his garden and the other a hand-torn smoked red chile pappardelle, sitting under a dishtowel in the kitchen of his home in Old Irving Park. What he found were some banged up peaches, blemished tomatoes and ears of corn too stripped of their husks for most shoppers. All for $4.
Merges, of course, had a dazzling array of vegetables and fruits at the peak of freshness, flavor and beauty to choose from at Chicago's most famous farmers market. But we had asked the acclaimed chef behind A10, Billy Sunday, Lucky Dorr and Old Irving Brewery, to take part in an ongoing video series aimed at reducing food waste, called "Ugly Food Rescue." His challenge: Shop a farmers market and buy vegetables and fruit people would pass by either because they were too "ugly" or too ripe or too bruised or too little known. These products are often referred to as seconds or, as one market vendor exclaimed, "farmer's choice."
"We're looking for seconds and things that people don't really want to use but I'm telling you, some of the things you find here that are seconds or blemished are awesome to use at home,'' he said enthusiastically.
Indeed. I watched as Merges stood with Steve Freeman of Nichols Farm and Orchard, one of the more well-known vendors at farmers markets in the city, admiring the Mirai sweet corn. One ear was marred by a blackened spot no bigger than a kernel or two. Another had an end that looked a bit torn up, while a third had too much husk stripped away. All were seconds that would be easily dealt with in the kitchen. The ripe yellow tomatoes splotched with black spots looked more problematic to me, but Merges didn't seem at all bothered. He'd peel them back in his kitchen and see what he ended up with. Problems solved.
Merges said he likes to shop a farmers market for perishable items knowing he has staple items back home. In this case, the two pastas, some grana padano cheese, garlic, shallots and lots of mint and basil in his backyard garden.
His approach to the two pastas was similar in technique although the flavors and textures were different. With the summery basil fettuccine he chose to highlight the bright crunch of just-cooked corn kernels, the umami richness of tomatoes, and the powerful perfume of basil leaves and basil seeds plucked from his garden. With the smoky chile pappardelle he chose a sweet-hot interplay by cooking the farmers market peaches in bacon fat and spiking them with slivered Thai chiles before garnishing with mint from his garden.
Both pastas could make quick, weekday meals_and Merges had no problem presenting both pastas at once.
"It's deliciousness and more deliciousness as far as I'm concerned,'' he said.
