Salmon with Corn, Pea Tendrils and Green Garlic Butter

I am quite thrilled that my neighborhood farmers market is open for the season. It's a really great market. While the Penn Quarter market is larger, since it has a variety of vendors, the New Morning Farm market often has better selection, since at Penn Quarter you tend to have like four or five people selling asparagus, but perhaps no one with cucumbers. New Morning Farm has a wonderful selection of vegetables, greens, herbs, fruit and berries, and a smattering of products from other vendors, including breads, eggs, cheeses and baked goods. Their outdoor-raised tomatoes, which will arrive later this summer, are amazing. As is their corn (also a coming attraction).

Green garlic

Pea tendrils

Looking to be adventurous, I deliberately picked up a couple items that I've never used before: green garlic and pea tendrils. These are the kinds of ingredients you can find at the farmers market that the grocery store never carries. Too seasonal and not shipper friendly.

The green garlic has an amazing scent: like garlic, but milder, almost buttery. The pea tendrils smell great too and even had little white flowers on them.

I decided to pair them with fish and, although I looked for some white fish options, I ended up with salmon. I'm glad I did actually, since a milder fish might have been overwhelmed with the flavors. I was able to punch things up a bit with smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. The corn was a last minute addition when I realized the salmon and pea tendrils alone probably weren't enough food.


Salmon with Green Garlic Butter
Inspired by Egg Batter Pan-Fried Flounder with Green Garlic, New York Times

.75 lb. salmon fillet, skin on one side
Olive oil spray
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup green garlic, white and tender green parts finely chopped
1 tbsp. lemon juice

1. Preheat oven broiler with rack positioned about 5 inches from element.

2. Place salmon fillet skin-side down on oiled, rimmed baking sheet. Spray fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 10 minutes, turning fish over after the first 5 minutes. Let cool and remove skin.

3. To make the green garlic butter, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add butter and green garlic and sauté a couple minutes until soft but not brown, reducing heat if needed to prevent burning. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper (makes about 1/4 cup).

Sautéed Pea Tendrils with Green Garlic
Adapted from Sautéed Pea Tendrils, Matt Bites

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. green garlic, white and tender green parts finely chopped
Pea tendrils, about 4 cups roughly chopped (this was the amount in the bag from the farmers market)
Ground smoked sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium frying pan. Add green garlic and sauté 1 minute to let it start softening. Add pea tendrils and sauté about 2 minutes, until wilted but still a but crunchy. Season with smoked sea salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.


Smoky Corn with Green Garlic Butter

1. tbsp. green garlic butter (see above)
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1. Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. green garlic butter. Add corn and smoked paprika and sauté until corn is cooked through, about 2-3 minutes.