Green City Market Cookbook + Tart Cherry Pecan Crisp.

Happy Friday! I have a new cookbook and a dessert recipe perfect for summer to share this morning. I was given the opportunity to review a cookbook using ingredients from the Green City Market’s regional farms. The Green City Market is a non-profit organization that began in 1998 and resides in Lincoln Park on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. The Green City Market Cookbook: Great Recipes from Chicago’s Award-Winning Farmers Market is organized by season and will be released on July 17th.

I strongly support Green City Market’s mission: to provide a marketplace for purchasing sustainably grown food and to educate, promote, and connect farmers and local producers directly to chefs, restauranteurs, and the greater Chicago community.

I’m planning to try a few recipes and post a review later this summer, but I had to start by sharing a recipe from The Green City Market Cookbook using one of my favorite fruits {with limited fresh availability!} – tart cherries. I love, love {did I mention LOVE?} tart cherries. There have been a few tart cherry recipes posted here, including a Cherry Chocolate Protein Smoothie, a “Green” Banana Cherry Smoothie, and Door County Cherry Cobbler. Within the next week or two, the Michigan tart cherry season begins and we’ll start seeing cherries at local farmers markets in Chicago.

Tart Cherry Pecan Crisp
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients~
1 quart (4 cups) tart cherries, pitted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans

How to~
*Heat oven to 400°F. Mix cherries and granulated sugar in a bowl; mix well.
*Mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter; mix with a pastry blender or quickly with fingers until small pea-sized pieces form. Stir in pecans.
*Place cherry mixture in an 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan. Place the topping mixture on top of the cherries.
*Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the topping is browned and the filling is bubbling.
*Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes before serving.
*Serve warm or at room temperature.

{I was not compensated for this post. I received a complimentary advance copy of the Green City Market Cookbook to review. All opinions are 100% my own}.