What's in season at the farmers market this week:
- Peppers
- Eggplant
- Melon
Chef Dan Barber calls breeder Hans Bongers "a mythical dude." Barber was in Los Angeles visiting the Santa Monica and Hollywood farmers markets to introduce a new allium to Southern California — garleek.
"It's an impossible cross," says Barber, who notes that the grower took 12 years and many resources to develop the new onion. With the help of farmer Alex Weiser, Barber is promoting garleek for his work with Row 7 Seeds.
Garleek, a cross between garlic and a leek, is a new allium. Photo by Elina Shatkin/KCRW
Weiser, who Barber praises as one of the great farmers of the United States, has worked with breeders and universities for decades, trialing new crops as he looks for yield, disease resistance, and "plate presence," which many growers don't consider. Weiser is no longer harvesting his spring onion crop but he says garleek will be available year round.
While some chefs are using baby garleek to accompany steak, Barber, who is known for Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, New York, and Family Meal at Blue Hill in Manhattan, is more ambitious. He's incorporating the new onion at his fish, vegetable, meat, cold garde manger stations. He's even pushing his dessert team to integrate it into courses.
"I want this in every corner of the kitchen because I want people to experience its versatility," Barber says.
Chef Dan Barber hopes to see garleek used in sweet and savory dishes. Photo by Elina Shatkin/KCRW