Food Food and Cooking: A Bridge to Cultural Understanding (Beet Soup)

SATURDAYS

9:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. WILTON MALL | FOOD COURT

by Julia Howard for Saratoga TODAY

Have you eaten something that transports you back in time or to a di erent place? at sense of nostalgia may be found in a soup your mother cooked or a special dessert your family shared on a religious holiday.

Preparing, sharing, and eating cultural foods is an act that links us to many things; family history, community, traditions, and even local and seasonal ingredients.

A unique blend of cultural foods at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has inspired a celebration of world flavors on Saturday, March 25, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, at the Wilton Mall food court.

The farmers’ market’s International Flavor Fest will highlight offerings from around the globe.

Your tastebuds will backpack across Europe with Sweet Prophecy’s frgál cakes from the Wallachia region of the eastern Czech Republic. Explore flavors from Scandinavia with Parchement’s Julekaker and Rugbrød, bread inspired by Scandinavian family traditions. Visit the Eastern Mediterranean with Euro Delicacies’ savory burek and classic dolma. Just to name a few stops.

Catch a flight of flavors to the Caribbean (with a touch of Trinidad and Tobago) with prepared food from Vashti’s Kitchen Delights, where herbs like cilantro and spices like cumin and cinnamon sing in dishes of pork and chicken.

Take a culinary shortcut to Asia, where warm scents of turmeric, cardamom, and chili fill the air. Daily Fresh brings curries, samosas, and mango lassies for a delicious experience from India. Bangladesh is inviting with a flavorful chicken and rice dish at Irin Wellness.

You can find many more flavorful foods from across the globe at the farmers’ market every Saturday, with special highlights and activities at the market’s International Flavor Fest on March 25.

Also, joining us for this celebration, the World Awareness Children’s Museum will bring activities and invite children to make paper fortune cookies. Families and market-goers may pick up a passport for their journey around the world at the farmers’ market, earning a prize when filling their passport with stamps from market vendors.

Reconnecting with food traditions, eating food prepared with nourishing ingredients, and slowing down to savor and experience food, creates a culture that we at the farmers’ market love sharing with the community e Saratoga Farmers Market is 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays in the food court of the Wilton Mall. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for previews of what’s fresh.

YIELDS: 6 servings | PREP & COOK TIME: 50 min

INGREDIENTS:

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 4 red beets*, peeled and ½ inch diced (approx 1 ½ pounds)

• 2 carrots*, ½ inch diced

• 1 large potato*, peeled and ½ inch diced

• ½ small green cabbage*, shaved

• 2 cloves garlic minced

• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth*

• 4 cups beef broth

• 2 Tbsp dill fresh, minced

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice fresh

• 1 tsp. lemon zest

• 1 bay leaf

• kosher salt to taste

• black pepper to taste

• sour cream optional, for serving

Instructions

:

1. Add olive oil to a soup pot and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add in the beets, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Stir to combine.

2. Cook for 10 minutes to slightly soften the vegetables.

3. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

4. Pour in the beef and the vegetable broth and add the bay leaf. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the beets and carrots are tender.

5. Discard bay leaf. Stir in the fresh dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Taste and season with the desired amount of kosher salt and black pepper.

6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Borscht is a traditional soup eaten in many Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, where it is an important part of culinary identity. Beets give this vegetable soup an earthy sweetness, while a dash of lemon juice and zest provide contrasting sour notes.

Adapted from the recipe by Holly Nilsson

by John Reardon for Saratoga TODAY

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Many of us have traditional St. Patrick Day practices that we have carried over either from family or have created over the years. The holiday is honored in myriad of ways around the world, ranging from the preparation of classic Irish food like Irish Potato Pie, or the classic Corned Beef and Cabbage, to adorning homes with clever green-and-gold decorations, and even making leprechaun traps. Though the festivities have changed over the centuries, St. Patrick’s Day’s traditions still showcase much of what makes Irish culture so unique. What will bring you luck? We can hope a little luck of the Irish rubs off on us when we partake in them. We think of leprechauns’ pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, pints of Guinness, bagpipers marching, and symbols like fourleaf clovers. Originally a religious feast honoring the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has turned into a day to celebrate all things Irish. Surprisingly, the way the holiday is celebrated in Ireland looks a little different, as some of the customs we associate with it are actually Irish American traditions. But either way, we can hope a little luck of the Irish rubs