Saturdays are my market days and while it may seem odd, late winter is actually one of my favorite times of year at the farmer’s market. As you stroll past the tables week after week, more and more vendors setup shop as the spring approaches.

This week the stainless steel buckets of fresh tulips and fragrant hyacinths are making their annual appearance, confirming that yes, spring really is around the corner. Moving on to edible offerings, I came across hydroponically grown tomato, gorgeous watermelon radishes and bottles of caramel-colored maple syrup. But most of the tables at the market were overflowing with tubers and onions–perhaps not very inspiring at first glance. But look a little closer and you’ll find rutabaga, turnips, celery root, shallots, onions and myriad varieties of potatoes, all beautiful in their unabashed earthiness, dirt still clinging to them.

So a big pile of potatoes and some onions, it could be a daunting prospect to cook, or a chance to really explore textures and flavors of these staple ingredients. There were so many potatoes of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Fingerling, Peruvian purple, Yukon gold and ruby crescent potatoes all spilling out of their bins onto the market tables. Lots of potatoes, lots of possibilities for something delicious to eat. Since there is still a chill in the air, I thought the potatoes would be perfect for a quick and delicious recipe affectionately known in my house as Italian potatoes (which is really just baked julienned potatoes, tossed sprinkled with bread crumbs).

It was the onions that got me thinking about what I could make that would be savory and delicious, oh and that my kids might eat. Pissaladiere? Tortilla Espanola? (You can’t go wrong with eggs and potatoes…hmmm…something to consider.) In the meantime, I loaded up my bag with some yellow onions and some pretty pink shallots. Thinking hard about what I could make with all these onions, I decided to make a variation of sorts on the onion tart, using pizza dough, caramelize the onions and add the pesto I had in my freezer and come up with a delicious dinner.

The nice thing about the farmer’s market in late winter is that you can still get crisp apples. I know they’re picked in the fall and put into cold storage, but that never stops me from filling my bags with beautiful empire and Cortland apples, handy for snacks and even better in a tart. That’s it–apple tart! I had my menu and so headed off to home, bags in hand, to get cooking. So from this week’s humble market fare of potatoes, onions and apples it became Italian Potatoes, Carmelized Onion Pizza and a Simple Apple Tart, a perfect cozy comfort food for a relaxing late winter weekend.

Late Winter Comfort Food Menu

Italian Potatoes

• 6 medium potatoes, julienned

• olive oil

• salt/pepper

• Italian-style bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Slice or julienne the potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until well coated. Spread out the potatoes onto a cookie sheet, taking care to make sure it’s only one layer of potatoes (so they will cook evenly). Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the potatoes and place in the oven for 45 minutes. You need to check the potatoes periodically to turn them over (I use a wooden spoon to gently turn them over). You can tell they’re finished when they are slightly crispy.

Carmelized Onion Pizza

• 4 medium onions, sliced thin

• 2 shallots, sliced thin

• basil pesto

• mozarella cheese, grated

• pizza dough

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Thinly slice the onions and shallots and saute them in olive oil until browned and significantly reduced in size. While the onions and shallots are browing, roll out the pizza dough to the size and shape that you want. (I usually make the pizza to fit on a cookie sheet.) Then place the pizza in the oven and parbake for about 5 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven, spread a thin layer of pesto over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle with the grated mozarella cheese. Finally top with the carmelized onions, spreading them out evenly over the top of the cheese. Bake in the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Simple Apple Tart

• 1 sheet puff pastry, rolled very thin

• 2-3 small apples, sliced very thin

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• sugar

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Core and slice the apples as thinly as you can and set aside. Roll out the puff pastry sheet as thin as possible, about ¼ inch thick. Cut the pastry dough into 4 smaller pieces about 7 inches across. Arrange the slices apples on top and drizzle each tart with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the pastry dough cooked through and flakey.

Enjoy these late winter recipes, and get ready for spring!