September 06, 2009 08:00 PM EDT
(Updated: September 06, 2009 08:05 PM EDT)
I was asked to make a guest appearance at the Kino'ole Street Farmers Market in Hilo yesterday. Yesterday was a special day also for the Kino'ole Market because it was celebrating being open for 2 years and has grown from a handfull of vendors to anywhere from 20 to 25 on any given Saturday
This market is known for vendors that sell their own farm grown produce or locally made products...no imports...so when I'm requested to make a guest appearance doing a food demo, I always try to demonstrate dishes made with as many ingredients grown or produced locally.
For this past Saturday, I chose to make a dish that can be served as a main entree for a brunch or luncheon or it can be made into a smaller version and served as a salad with a meal.
Tomato, Sashimi, Avocado Salad with Pesto & Chevre
Ripe tomatoes slices
Ripe avocadoes wedges or slices
'Ahi Sashimi (*)
Pesto
Chevre (goat cheese)
Chopped and toasted macadamia nuts
Sprigs of watercress for garnish
(*) Crab meat, tuna, chicken or smoked salmon can be used instead if you wish.
I made the pesto at home using 3 different varieties of basil; Thai, Italian Sweet and a basil I found that was called Cuban Basil, but I was not familiar with it before I bought the plant.
To make the pesto:
Take 4-5 bunches of basil, leaves and stems
Olive oil that I previously enfused with garlic (**)
Chopped and toasted macadamia nuts
Freshly grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) cheese
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste (optiona)
Place all ingredients in the blender or food processor and process until smooth.
(**) To infuse the oil with garlic, I empty a whole bottle of Extra Virgin Italian Olive Oil in the bowl of my crock pot turned down to low. Add the peeled and sliced cloves of a whole head of garlic. Let cook until garlic starts turning slightly beige. Skim the garlic out and save for other uses (we love mashing it and spreading on bruschetta) - when cool, pour the oil back into bottle.
In serving dish place a slice of tomato, top with sliced avocado and sashimi, drizzle with pesto add a teaspoon or so of creamy goat cheese (chevre) and sprinkle with the chopped and toasted macadamia nuts. Give it a twist of the pepper mill if desired and top with a sprig of watercress. Place another sprig or two of watercress by the side.
The goat cheese I used is locally made (Lava Rock Puna Goat Cheese in Kurtistown) but the farmer does not sell at the Kino'ole Market.
If you live in Hilo or nearby and haven't visited the Kino'ole Farmers Market yet, please make it a point to do so.
Kino'ole Farmers Market
1990 Kinoole Street, and corner of Kahaopea Street
Open 7 AM to Noon - Saturdays only
Plenty of parking and paved grounds - no mud even when it rains!
If interested in selling at the market, please call Rusty at 938-4545 or through
dperry@papayas.net
Other writings about the Kino'ole Farmers Market:
TROPICAL TASTE - Chicken Salad in Papaya Boat & Papaya Smoothies
Tropical Ambrosia
Demo at the Farmers Market
Traipsing through a new Farmers Market
(c) Sonia R. Martinez
Original article
Please provide details below to help Gather review this content. If it is found to be inappropriate and in violation of the
Gather Terms of Service, action will be taken.
You have successfully submitted a report for this post.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 20
I have so much basil that I am planning on making my own pesto sauce this week, although I will be doing it by hand.
As soon as I have ripe avos again (which should be in a couple of days) I will be preparing a version of this salad again for us.
Tell me what you think of it when you make it
The pesto I made is quite concentrated and could be 'smoothed' down a bit....but the combination of all the other bland tastes with the pesto and the smoothness of the avo is delicious.
I think even the addition of a few thin slices of red or maybe sweet onion would be good with this.
I have some smoked salmon calling my name...but I'm all out of garlic, darn! (we used it all up today... so we need to go to the store tomorrow!) I need to infuse some olive oil from scratch like you instructed and we'll be set to make some pesto for this... I have all kinds of basil in the garden that needs to be harvested... gee, I'm hungry!
You mean you're using the watercress instead of basil or you're adding the watercress to the basil?
I have to go find myself some ice cube trays. Those things don't come with the new fridges anymore :-)