Shopping at the farmer's market has taken on new meaning since the stay-at-home orders began in the Bay Area. A leisurely stroll on a Sunday morning browsing the offerings under warm rays of sunshine re-energizes me, but it's also a small way to support our local economy.

Right now I'm smitten with the sweet, crisp baby fennel, carrots and celery, the tender greens, and bright herbs. And this humble, hearty vegetable stew highlights all of these. As I bring the ingredients together in one pot, I imagine it's something the growers themselves might make after a long day at the market.

I wanted to keep the broth light and bright. The flavor and contrast come from first adding lemon, mint and fennel fronds, and halved cherry tomatoes at the end (the latter not pictured because I remembered them only after the photo!). Then, finishing with a generous drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil and cracked black pepper. A splash of Sherry vinegar and grating or some shards of Parmesan would not be out of place here either!

Spring Market Stew

Serves 4
Notes: Recipe calls for chickpeas, but a creamy white kidney or Cannellini bean would also work well. Recipe calls for Swiss chard. If the chard is really fresh the stems will be tender. The yellow and pink stems from rainbow chard are particularly pretty, so I like to thinly slice them and add to cook with the onion, celery and fennel. Not a necessary addition, but nice.

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 stalks of celery (try to use the tender inner stalks with the leafy tops), thinly sliced
2 small fennel bulbs (reserve fronds, if available), halved and sliced
1/2 large bunch swiss chard, leaves chopped and (optional) stems thinly sliced
8 cups (1.9 L) water
400 gr. small potatoes (10-12), halved & quartered
2 tsp. salt & black pepper, to taste
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed (or 3 cups cooked)
1 bunch baby carrots, sliced the same size as potatoes, not too thinly.
Juice of 1 lemon
Couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
Toppings: mint and fennel fronds (if available), roughly chopped; extra-virgin olive oil; freshly cracked black pepper, Sherry vinegar, parmesan

Fill an electric tea kettle and turn on to boil. (Optional, but helps soup cook faster.)
Place a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and onion. Saute for a minute, then add celery, fennel, and chard stems if using. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook until beginning to soften (~2-3 minutes).
Add just boiled water, potatoes, salt and black pepper. Cover, raise heat to high to bring back to a boil, reduce to strong simmer, and cook five minutes.
Add chickpeas, carrots, Swiss chard leaves, and juice of lemon.
Bring back to a steady simmer and cook, covered, another 5 minutes, until potatoes are just cooked through and carrots are crisp tender. Remove from heat, then stir through cherry tomatoes.
Ladle into bowls and top with herbs, a generous drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. Optional but very delicious: add a splash of Sherry vinegar and some Parmesan shards.