Opening Day at Firewheel Farmers Market!

Written by Chef Dave | 18 November 2009

Firewheel Farmers Market!

Opening Day what a huge success! I was kindly asked to provide a market tour while hand selecting my ingredients that I was going to use for the demo… Just having a general idea of what was at my finger tips, I of course stumbled upon some new and amazing finds!

Texas Olive Ranch Owners (Karen and Henry)

Picking up the last of the fresh heirloom tomatoes of the season!

I have always had a large love for “breakfast for dinner” or breakfast for any meal period for that matter! When I lived in Europe we only ate eggs in the evening, of course a complete new concept to a kid from North America!

Brian Cummings and his amazing group eatgreendfw has put together an amazing showing of local vendors. There were people from every sector so to speak, from ranchers, farmers, olive oil producers, spice makers, etc. I was very impressed and needless to say I had a nice crowd following me!

Have you ever shopped with people peeking over your shoulder trying to figure out “what will the chef get next”? It was a little different for me at first, but I very quickly got used to it and did my best to provide an education to the crowd.

After making our way through the “U” shaped market and 35 some odd vendors we landed up with some of the simplest ingredients, which to me is always the best! My thoughts have always been keep the food simple and let their individual flavors shine through… if a tomato is supposed to taste like a tomato then let it shine and sing as a tomato!

my new sous chefs!

For the demo- I had gathered

1 pork tenderloin

8 oz. of Leyla Farms Yogurt

1 teaspoon of lemon pepper (that I graciously grabbed from a new friend in the audience)

3 lbs. of heirloom tomatoes

1 bottle of Texas Olive Oil (extra Virgin)

1 bottle of Texas Olive Oil (roasted garlic flavor)

1 bunch of basil1 bunch of scallions

1 dozen farm eggs

For the dish- I wanted to keep the preparation very simple, not just because I was working on a small table, but more for the fact that it needed to be replicated at home and not in a commercial kitchen! That is often the mistake we make as chefs…we forget that not everyone has 12 burners pumping out high BTU’s! (oh, and an army of cooks doesn’t hurt either!)

The simplest food can be the best food- it’s about the integrity of your ingredients!

Method of Procedure-

1. Marinade the Pork tenderloin in the yogurt for 1 hour (lamb is a excellent substitute)

2. In a mixing bowl wedge the tomatoes, or if they are very small cut them in half, tear the basil or cut in thin ribbons (chiffinade). Lightly pour extra virgin olive oil over (or the roasted garlic olive oil if wanting to add that beautiful bouquet and aroma of garlic).

Lightly salt, add in sliced thin scallions, onions, and GENTLY mix together. Allow to sit for 15 minutes (minimum) before serving.

3. In a sauté pan (to make life easy use a non stick), gently crack 2 eggs, cook them until the whites are firm, and yolk is still soft and runny. (sunny side up) Allow the yolk to act as the sauce for the pork! (see cooking really isn’t that hard!)

4. Remove the pork from the yogurt, allow the excess to drip off, then season with salt, pepper and any other seasoning enhancement you like! Grill the pork until it is soft but firm, then allow it to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Thinly slice the pork and place it on the plate with the eggs and gently spoon tomato mixture over top!

5. ENJOY!!!!!