Long favored in Rome and Umbria, Agretti is a mild Italian green. A couple of our local growers have planted seeds imported from Italy, and the resulting harvest is showing up on menus all over Los Angeles. Sauteed Skate Wing with Fingerling Potatoes, Manilla Clams and Agretti. Seared Spot Prawns with Agretti, Ginger and Lobster…
The flavorful bite of arugula is becoming very familar to white tablecloth diners. Arugula (also known as rocket, roquette, and rucola) has broken through the level of accent green into being the feature item in salads. ARUGULA FLOWERS have the same wonderfully expressive flavor packed into their juicy stems and lovely white flowers. ARUGULA FLOWERS…
Grown on a small, family farm in Ventura County, California, Baby Arrowhead Spinach is our favorite Spinach for salads. Why? It’ s all about the flavor. Baby Arrowhead Spinach flavor starts out typically green and spinachy but its finish is quite rich with distinct notes of toasted nut. The lovely, unusual shape of the leaves…
These baby beets are unique thanks to their gorgeous tops! Unlike regular Baby Red Beets, these little gems have tops with rich, dark red color. Beautiful braised or sauté ed. Grown in Los Angeles County.
We love these little chokes! The offshoots of an Artichoke variety developed here in Southern California, Baby Purple Artichokes have a more intense, nuttier flavor than their Green Globe cousins. They also cook faster. Our farmer developed this variety, Fiesole, in 2004 from traditional European varieties such as French ‘ Violet de Provence’ and Italian…
The original eggplant, descended from the wild form, was similar in shape and color to a hen’s egg (hence, the name). In Italy, eggplants were already being cultivated in about 1550, and today, throughout the Mediterranean, eggplant is as much a part of the daily meals as potatoes, onion and garlic. Incredibly adaptable, eggplant’s white,…
In Roman times, Carrots were either purple or white. It was the Dutch who selected for and popularized the orange Carrot. So while purple Carrots are new to us, they represent the Carrot’ s earliest incarnations. We were only mildly interested in these Black Knight Carrots when we first saw them. Yes, their very dark…
Black-eyed Peas (Cowpeas, Crowder Peas, Black-eyed Beans) have long been popular in the South, thanks to their sweet and mild, rather earthy, flavor. They are small and greenish-beige (beige when dried) with a brown circular ‘ eye’ at their inner curve. Black-eyed Peas are traditionally partnered with rice and with greens and are the featured…
The Sweet Corn grown in the Brentwood area of California’s Sacramento River Delta is the best tasting, sweetest Corn we’ ve found. Known as Brentwood Corn, this product has the well-deserved reputation across the country as the benchmark against which all other Corn is measured. The Sacramento River Delta boasts some of this country’ s…
A cross between Gai Lan and Broccoli, baby broccoli or broccolini has a sweet, delicate flavor with a subtle peppery ‘edge’. Although it looks somewhat like asparagus, with slender stems and buds on top, these two vegetables are not related in any way. The texture of the stem is less fibrous than broccoli or asparagus…
Celery Root (also known as celeriac) is a variety of branch celery that has been cultivated for its tuber, rather than its stalks. As early 1536, botanical writer Ruellius mentioned that celery root was eaten, both cooked and raw and in 1575 another writer, Rauwolf, said that it was considered a delicacy in the Arab…
CIPOLLINA means ‘small onion’ in Italian (the plural is CIPOLLINE) and to the produce world, it means small, flat, mild, yellow or red onion. CIPOLLINE sold in the United States is grown here and in Italy. The domestic crop comes from seeds of Italian origin, and Italian-grown product is imported every season. CIPOLLINE are tender…
Grown in the famously fertile soil of California’ s Sacramento Delta, this Green Asparagus grows to lengths in excess of one foot and the diameter of a quarter. The spears are so long they will not fit into a commercial Asparagus carton we have to pack them lying down! The spears are colossal but their…
Considered an heirloom, and originally from the Netherlands, Dragon Tongue beans are a wax bush bean with long, flat, creamy yellow pods covered with purple streaks. They have excellent flavor, and can be used in any recipe that calls for green beans.
ENDIGIA is a beautiful red endive variety. Grown and packed in California, this lovely member of the chicory family has the familiar rich red color of regular Red Endive, but the tips of its leaves are broader and slightly ruffled.
English Pea, garden pea, green pea. Whatever you like to call them, there is evidence that they were cultivated as long ago as 5,700 B.C. They are descended from the wild form, which is indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and to the Middle East. Only about 5 percent of the Pea Crop reaches the fresh…
Escarole is the least bitter member of the chicory family. It roughly resembles loose-leaf lettuce, but the leaves are thick and vaguely ruffled. Escarole forms a large, flat rosette of broad, unsplit leaves with unbroken margins and thick ribs. The leaves stay fresh for longer than the jagged, highly chiseled leaves of Frisee. Escarole hearts…
Very fine, tender and sweet, our Extra Small Haricot Vert Beans have exceptional flavor and texture. Their diameter is about half that of commercially grown French Beans. They look lovely and taste wonderful. This is how Haricot Vert were meant to be, and replacing commercially grown run-of-the-mill French Beans with our Extra Small Haricot Vert…
Our farmers grow these beautiful carrots using sustainable methods and lots of TLC. From week to week, the Farmer’ s Market Mix will contain a combination of some or all of the following five varieties (Sugar Crisp, Nantes, and Black Knight are pictured): Nantes (orange), Sunrise (red), Sugar Crisp (yellow), Belgium White (white) and Black…
Fans of Fava Beans don’ t seem to mind the work it takes to prepare them. They laud the bean’s distinctive flavor and creamy texture. How much work? you ask. Well, in addition to having to strip them from their sleeping bag of a pod, you must also remove the tender beans from the pale…