Winter in Massachusetts is a tough time for consumers who like to eat local. Happily, we're seeing more weekly winter farmers' markets, like the ones inBrookline and Somerville, and urbanites can rely on the Boston Public Market for fish, produce and even pastrami. But for silky, sweet parsnips or earthy, nutty squash — even in the dead of winter — many flock to Wilson Farm, affectionately known as Wilson’s by regulars.
Founded in 1884 by the Wilson family, this Lexington, MA farm is a popular place to shop for many northwest suburbanites. All produce sold at the farm is labeled with the location of origin, helping consumers find regionally grown options. While Wilson’s offers produce grown from Maine to Peru, they try to source locally as much as possible and always have selections from their own farm available through careful crop planning and storage. While Wilson’s does not use greenhouses, they sell produce from several other farms that do, ensuring customers can get locally grown tomatoes, even in February.
Winter is widely considered squash season, and the selection goes way beyond butternut. Wilson’s sells several different varieties: hazelnut-flavored Turks turban; toasty, sweet blue hubbard; creamy, rich butterkin and savory acorn are just a few of the options available. To help out home cooks, some varieties are pre-peeled and seeded. The farm offers free recipes, test driven by their culinary team to inspire home cooks to dig into winter produce.
For busy customers without the time to cook, the farm offers convenient and tasty meals to go. In the fall of 2014, Wilson’s boosted their culinary clout with the hire of Chef Raymond Ost. A Master Chef of France and fixture on the Boston restaurant scene, Ost was coming off an 18 year stint running his own restaurant — Sandrine’s — and searching for a new challenge. The opportunity to head up Wilson’s culinary department presented a way to step outside the mainstream career trajectory for professional chefs and work with fresh, high quality produce. Under Ost’s guidance, Wilson’s prepared foods selection is expanding and offering customers a bargain, especially compared with restaurant prices. Customers pay $10-$16 a box for restaurant-quality French-influenced cuisine.
Right now, Ost says he is focusing on dishes that are “hearty and fit for winter.” Aside from classics such as beef bourguignon, Ost is rolling out new prepared options like a flavorful and rich lamb Navarin stew ($12.99), or a hearty, gamey cassoulet with goose confit ($6.99/lb.). Both these menu items feature seasonal produce and incorporate Ost’s French background. I picked up the stew on my visit and was thrilled with the lean, tender pieces of lamb complimented by a rich, warming broth and hearty root vegetables. This is a dish to chase those winter blues away.
Ost notes that his greatest challenge at Wilson’s is “fitting a beautiful plate into a box, and making it look as appetizing as possible,” but happy repeat customers indicate he's up to the task.
Aside from the prepared foods, Ost conducts cooking classes, teaching consumers to create gourmet meals with ingredients available at the farm. Ost tries to focus on local seasonal ingredients, primarily from the farm’s own selection. The January cooking class will feature a winter salad with mache, watercress, fennel and haricot verts; baked pork cordon bleu with a cauliflower gratin; and apple tart with vanilla ice cream.
In the name of research, I sampled a few of Ost's pre-made selections, making a meal of seasonally appropriate and comforting butternut squash and apple soup ($5.49/lb.) and a palate-cleansing and addictive kale salad ($8.99/lb.). Both savory and sweet, the butternut squash soup has a surprising depth of flavor, thanks to its chicken stock base and the addition of tangy celery and onions. At home, a little handiwork takes this soup to the next level; I suggest topping a bowl with a some chopped apple and mint tossed with champagne vinegar to add texture and zing.
The kale salad helps balance the rich flavors of squash and lamb. The chopped greens are accented with chewy farro, sweet cranberries, crunchy peas, salty feta, and a refreshing lemon mint vinaigrette. I will be coming back for seconds (and thirds, and fourths) of this hearty and healthful winter dish. Ost’s secret to getting the kale so tender? After chopping it, he massages the kale with a little olive oil and salt for a few minutes.
When asked why he chose to come work at Wilson Farm, Ost’s reply is simple: “it’s the highest quality farm in the area,” he says. This commitment to quality is evident from the raw produce to the prepared foods. If you are looking to eat fresh, local produce, Wilson Farm is one of Greater Boston's best bets. As Ost says, “no one can get it fresher than I can.” Except, perhaps, Wilson Farm’s customers.
10 Pleasant St., Lexington, MA 781-862-3900, wilsonfarm.com
