With more limited produce at markets, this time of year is a great opportunity to explore the wonderful meat vendors at market! Whether you’re looking for a local product to feature in your Super Bowl shareables, searching for more immunity boosting recipes to stave off a cold this winter, or just trying to support farmers markets throughout the season, local meat producers have plenty to offer!
While not actually related to weddings, Italian wedding soup is a comforting rendition of the classic cold-staving chicken noodle soup. Italian wedding—known as minestra maritata in Italian—directly translates to “married soup,” referring to the marriage of flavors between greens and meat in a nutrient dense broth. Traditionally—from Southern Italy and parts of Spain—Italian wedding is made with leftover meats like pork and ground beef shaped into tiny delicious meatballs, whatever available greens and slightly bitter vegetables like chicory, cabbage, kale, escarole, chard, spinach, and endive, and a time-intensive, yet worth it homemade broth. If you’re one to celebrate Valentine’s Day and love this time of year, warm up a cold night with this symbolic and soothing Italian American version boasting tiny pasta (acini di pepe), carrots, kale, and pork meatballs.
Prepare your broth ahead of time with leftover chicken parts and broth bones or pick up pre-made broth from J4 Cattle (River Arts District Farmers Market), Good Wheel Farm (North Asheville Tailgate Market), or Ivy Fields Farm (Asheville City and Weaverville markets). Combine your tiny meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix—a half pound of ground pork, a half cup of breadcrumbs, one egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Roll the mixture into tiny meatballs (wetting your hands helps it not be as sticky) and line them up on a greased baking sheet. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Bring a soup pot with two tablespoons of oil to medium heat and saute half a diced onion and two minced garlic cloves with oregano, salt, and pepper. Turn up the heat a little and add three chopped carrots plus a little bit of broth to deglaze the pot. Roughly chop two leaves of kale and add it to the pot along with four cups of both. Once your carrots start to become tender, add your tiny pasta and stir continuously so it doesn’t stick—orzo or acini di pepe work great for this soup. Remove your meatballs from the oven, add them to your soup, and serve topped with grated parmesan. For varying dietary needs and preferences, swap the meat for cannellini beans or the pasta for gluten-free pasta or rice.
With the abundance of local pork producers, pulled pork may be the perfect dish to share with friends and family at a potential Super Bowl party next weekend! This crowd-pleaser is more time intensive, but the perfectly cooked, tender, and juicy result will absolutely be worth it! Start with four pounds of pork shoulder, trimming any excess fat and then cutting the shoulder into a few smaller pieces. In a small bowl, combine one tablespoon each of brown sugar and chili powder, and one teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Rub the spices all over the pork and let sit, preferably overnight. In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, add a few tablespoons of oil, then sear the meat on all sides. Pour half a cup of apple cider vinegar and one cup of apple cider around the pork in the dutch oven, cover with a lid, then cook in an oven for three hours at 300 degrees. After three hours, remove the lid and continue cooking for an additional one to two hours, until the pork is tender and easily pulled apart with a fork. Remove from the oven and shred the meat, adding in barbeque sauce if desired. Enjoy alone, served as a pulled pork sandwich, as a topping for nachos, as the base for a taco, and more! You can find pork from vendors like Sugar Hollow Farm (North Asheville and River Arts District markets), Hickory Nut Gap (North Asheville Tailgate Market), Dry Ridge Farm (Asheville City and North Asheville markets), and Dillingham Farm (Weaverville Tailgate Market) and apple cider from Creasman Farms (Asheville City Market) and McConnell Farms (North Asheville Tailgate Market).
This time of year, markets may need to make adjustments or cancellations due to unpredictable weather. Keep up-to-date with your favorite markets through their social media and newsletters.
At winter markets now you’ll also find beets, radishes, turnips, cabbage, hardy greens, salad greens, winter squash, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Markets are also stocked with a variety of cheeses, pasta, pastries, drinks, and prepared foods. As always, you can find information about farms, tailgate markets, and farm stands, including locations and hours, by visiting ASAP’s online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org.