Recipes to make the most of Pacific Northwest summer fruit
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Our cup, it overfloweth. Photo: Thomas Teal/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pacific Northwest summer boasts some of the best fruits in the world, with fresh seasonal varieties that make it easy to cook dishes that are local and packed with flavor.
Dig in: We compiled some of our favorite recipes — along with a tasty contribution from a local chef — perfect for enjoying on a sunny day or warm evening.
🍓 Kale's absolute go-to for early summer fruit is this fresh strawberry pie.
- I omit the added sugar and find that the strawberries are plenty sweet to carry the dish.
- Plus: If you snag a gluten-free crust and some dairy-free whipped cream, it's a nice treat for folks with dietary restrictions.
🍅 Chef Kasey Mills, of Sesame Collective, dropped us a fancy reminder that tomatoes are, indeed, a fruit: heirloom tomato salad with rose petal harissa, tahina and mint.
- "We serve this dish every summer when tomatoes are at their peak, typically from mid-July through September," Mills told Axios.
🍑 For Hadley, the highlight of every summer is a morning at Columbia Farms U-Pick on Sauvie Island for marionberries and blackberries, and a day trip to Hood River for a box of juicy peaches from Smiley's.
- The fruit doesn't need much. Some sugar to taste, a thickener (corn starch), maybe some ground ginger and lemon zest for zing.
- Pair with Alison Roman's pie crust and vanilla ice cream.
🐟 Meira loves tomatoes in every form. At their peak, heirlooms are best sliced, plated and drizzled with Helen Rosner's tonnato sauce.
- Toss tuna, anchovies, capers, garlic and other gluttonous condiments into a blender. Serve with shredded burrata, basil, a crack of pepper and Jacobsen's flaky sea salt.
Happy eating!