Mango Coconut Terrazzo Pie

And why maybe I'll never be a farmers market person

As you may have seen on my IG Stories, I’m trying to become a “farmers market person.” They are often way too busy and too expensive (for me!). Every stand works a little different so it’s hard to know what to do or how much things will cost, and because I rarely come with a plan, I end up panicking and buying stuff I don’t need or nothing at all. Also I usually don’t have my shit together before noon on a weekends to go on a solitary mission like this, and I don’t really enjoy doing “leisure” things like this alone.

However, the produce at my local stores has reached a new low: mealy, bruised fruit — some rotten right to the core! And I’d like to get ahold of some more fun, unusual fruit and veg, edible flowers, and, of course, actually-good heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit. Plus, I think getting really good quality produce encourages me to let natural flavors shine through in recipe development, and helps the stuff I make look better on camera.

So this past Saturday morning, I took the short walk to McCarren Park Greenmarket in Williamsburg. I went around 11 a.m. and, of course, it was packed — even on a muggy, overcast day. Everyone showed up with their dog, boyfriend, stroller, three kids, au pair, accountant and lawyer. Except me — how embarrassing! And because of that, no one is paying attention: meandering about cluelessly, cutting people off, strolling lazily while I (again, I’m not here to have fun; this isn’t an activity for me!) am white-knuckling this farmers market anxiety exposure therapy.

That’s a lot of emotion for organic corn. But overall, my experience was frenzied, sweaty, and only partially successful. $24 later, I got a loaf of (good!) bread, two (2) heirloom tomatoes and a sizable bunch of sweet basil. Again, this is a significant amount of money for me. I respect these farms charging what they need to make it all happen, but maybe I’m just not in farmers market person tax bracket yet. Also, considering how many groceries I need to buy for all my testing, it also might not make sense for *every* ingredient to be the highest quality.

Some feedback I got to make the experience better next time:

1. For morning markets (mine ends at around 3 p.m. allegedly) err on getting there between 8 and 9 a.m. when there’s still lots of inventory but way less people. I will say at 11 a.m. it was a zoo, but then when I walked back at 12:30 p.m. it was much calmer, so maybe the attendance is like a bell curve.

2. Go to the McGolrick Farmer’s Market. The other white meat of Greenpoint parks, McGolrick is slightly out of the way (but hey, the G is down anyway!) but way less busy.

3. If you have more, I’d love to hear them!

   
   

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Not-Really-a-Recipe-Recipe: Jalapeño Feta Corn  
I took about 3 ears of corn and a finely sliced jalapeño (seeds and ribs removed), sautéed them on medium with a drizzle of olive oil (or sesame oil), salt and pepper. Tried to get some color on the corn but didn’t worry about it too much. Transferred to a bowl, mixed with maybe a tablespoon of sesame oil, one solitary glug of fish sauce (which I am fully allergic to but I fight through it), the juice of like half a lime and I think like half a teaspoon sugar. Then I tossed in a handful of crumbled feta. I would have added some cilantro, if I’d had any. I was eating this straight out of the bowl sometimes but then I also mixed it in with some leafy greens, which was great.

This Week’s Recipe

I love how the top of the pie looks like a big bowl of boba tea with orange jellies (or ice cubes?)

So I know there’s been much talk about coconuts lately. (A little too much and I’m sorry for contributing to that.) Believe me when I say that this isn’t a way to boost SEO and search-ability and algorithmic relevance on this recipe post.

In this no-bake offering, mango jelly cubes stud creamy coconut panna cotta hugged by a shell of gingersnap crumb crust. When you slice in, the cross-section reveals a pattern reminiscent of terrazzo, a stained glass window of gelatin-set tropical flavas.

Timing is important to take into account with this recipe. Since the mango jelly needs to set before being cut into cubes and arranged in the crust, I recommend preparing it a day or two in advance. It will take around 4-6 hours for the jelly to set up, then another 6 for the coconut panna cotta to set up around it. So, if you want to serve it Saturday at noon, I would make the jelly Thursday or Friday. Then fill the crust with the jellies and coconut panna cotta Friday night. If you want to serve it Saturday around 3 p.m., I would still make the jelly Thursday or Friday, and then fill the crust with the jellies and coconut panna cotta Saturday around 9 a.m.. The crust will start to get slightly soggy after a day or two.

I probably cut the jelly cubes a little too big on this one.

Mango Coconut Terrazzo Pie

Ingredients