Several years ago, my favorite apartment – and I’ve moved a lot, around the country – was within walking distance of the Dane County Farmers’ Market in Madison, which I did not take for granted. I could roll out of bed and be back in a half hour with fresh strawberries, Amish-made scones and award-winning cheese. Seasoned market-goers know this market to be crowded, with pedestrian traffic flowing in one direction only around downtown’s Capitol Square, as if this was a pre-Christmas shopping jaunt at the mall.
And now, with a recent Top Chef Wisconsin episode (episode 5, titled “Supper Club”) where cheftestants flitted around the market for a culinary challenge, there’s even more attention on the market. And there should be, as this is still the largest producer-only farmers’ market in the United States. It’s also firmly footed in a state with the second-highest number of organic farms after California and ranks only behind New York and California for its number of farmers markets. This year, the market celebrates 50 years.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Madison food writer Terese Allen was tapped to work on The Dane County Farmers’ Market Cookbook: Local Foods, Global Flavors, a hardcover cookbook spanning 258 pages.
Allen’s also the co-founder of the Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin (CHEW). The cookbook published in 2023. She is also the author of The Flavor of Wisconsin: An Informal History of Food and Eating in the Badger State.
Throughout the cookbook, which is organized by types of dishes, from appetizers and drinks to desserts, and features full-color photography, are recipes folding in what you can find at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. (It’s worth noting that the same type of produce will likely be found at markets in Milwaukee, in case a drive to Madison is not in the cards.)
Allen also includes a foreword by James Beard Award-winning chef Tory Miller (chef and co-owner of L’Etoile and Graze in Madison), an introduction and two appendices: one about the market’s history and another about the crops and products you can find there.
Miller writes about his relationship with the market, fitting as it’s across the street from his restaurants. Since arriving in 2003, he’s visited the market every Saturday morning, calling it “a playground for a chef” and “the most important part of my job.”
What makes this book unique is that it’s entirely centered around the market. Recipes are only contributed by members of the market community, including chefs, growers, vendors, shoppers, staff and volunteers. A lot of cookbooks publish recipes by chefs that can be intimidating, including sourcing ingredients and cooking techniques. These recipe writers – with Allen’s thoughtful edits – take more of a peer-to-peer approach.
They also read like love letters, such as Betty Rosengren’s nod to her Welsh upbringing with her Bara Birth (Welsh Tea Bread) recipe, incorporating currants sold at the market in late July. It’s a modified version of what her grandmother brought to the U.S. in 1917. Israel native Efrat Livy supplied her Shakshuka recipe, too, which could be key to using up tomatoes in August and September. Other examples are Maine native Lisa Dussault’s Maine Sour Mustard Pickles and Ally Shepherd’s Lancashire Courting Cake, using Land of O’s jams and a family recipe from her childhood in the U.K.
Many recipes are inspired by what else is in Madison. This includes frequent market shopper Laura Schmidli, a fan of Himul Chuli, a Nepalese restaurant on State Street, who set out to recreate “the lovely, seasonal flavors I’ve experienced there over the years.” The result is Golden Asparagus with Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes and Nepali Spices.
Diversity is also represented. From the Amish-inspired Apple Cider Syrup to Mee’s Green Beans with Ground Beef, Garlic and Thai Peppers, provided by Dane County Farmers’ Market member Phil Yang, this is very clear.
There is also a lot of cheese, as there should be, such as Stuffed Jalapenos with Bacon and Chevre (provided by Capri Cheese owner Felix Thalhammer), Celery and Blue Cheese Soup (Hook’s Cheese Company’s Tilston Point blue cheese is a recommended ingredient) and Cheesy White Corn Grits (folding in Bleu Mont Dairy’s cheddar as well as Meadowlark Organics’ locally grown, freshly milled white corn).
Allen will appear at Boswell Books on June 6 at 6:30 p.m., in conversation with Lori Fredrich (OnMilwaukee.com food writer and author of Wisconsin Field to Fork: Farm-Fresh Recipes from the Dairy State). Registration is free. Signed copies will be available at the event.
