The Holy Trinity

written by Noah Glasgow

Ethan stands, arms crossed, boots rooted comfortably in the soil, his eyes surveying the neat rows of baby lettuce that span the width of the farm’s new gardens – only recently converted from pastureland. Looking out, he smiles with the pride and satisfaction that can only come from appreciating something you’ve grown yourself. Ethan is The Grey Barn and Farm’s garden manager. He has brought the farm’s produce program from a single walled garden to five acres of dedicated production land that yields certified organic vegetables every month of the year. 

Ethan talks about vegetable farming with an infectious enthusiasm that can only come from someone who is both passionate and talented. Waving his hand at impossibly long rows of carrots and peppers, pointing quickly to hidden bunches of pickling cucumbers, he explains how even with the operation’s recent expansion, things are still organized like a home garden, broken down into plots and beds and rows, with neat wooden stakes demarcating where one vegetable variety begins and another ends. He remains a stalwart advocate for hand-weeding over spraying, hoping to decrease the weed seed bank in each bed year-on-year. 

But what excites Ethan more than anything else is the vegetables themselves. This becomes obvious when he stoops over a row of lettuce and can’t help but snatch a few leaves for a snack. One understands quickly that if Ethan is at home in the soil, it’s because he can’t wait to be in the kitchen, with a cookbook open and a chef’s knife slicing through the carrots and onions and celery his team has grown.

His enthusiasm leads him to hand-select every vegetable variety the gardens grow. 

“When someone comes to the farmstand, and they’re looking to cook a meal, I always want to have a vegetable that will lead their hand,” Ethan says. Unenthused with broccoli, a particularly difficult crop, the gardens have put out gorgeous heads of kohlrabi this year, another brassica that’s not always on offer at the grocery store. It has a similar (if sharper) flavor. Bok choy, Ethan says, is easy to grow and easier to cook, even if it’s not something every home chef is familiar with. In other greens, the unique flavors of fennel and chicory lettuce present a summertime challenge that can steer any meal or dish. 

However, Ethan’s quick to note that not every customer in the farmstand is looking for produce. “Lots of people come in just looking for a piece of cheese or meat, and that’s fine. We want to have the vegetables that can complete their meal, regardless of the cuisine.” To that end, the gardens do their best to keep the farmstand stocked with carrots, celery, and onions. The last are Ethan’s favorite crop. The three vegetables are the base ingredients in French mirepoix and Italian soffritto.

Taken together, these “flavor base” vegetables, or aromatic vegetables, are the make-or-break behind countless dishes. In cuisines beyond France and Italy, German suppengrun incorporates leeks, and the Cajun “Holy Trinity” substitutes bell pepper for carrot. A touch of garlic or an herb like basil or cilantro in mirepoix can also twist the flavor towards a desired region. For Ethan, growing these aromatics and keeping them in stock helps keep The Grey Barn gardens tied in with the rest of the farm’s departments: it contributes to a meal all sourced from the same hundred acres.

Fermented Mirepoix

2 carrots (150g)

2 small onions (200g)

2 small celery sticks and leaves (150g)

10g sea salt

500ml water

Put the salt and 500ml water in a pan, heat on the stove, stirring, until the salt dissolves. Leave to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, dice carrots, onions, and celery, or grate on the rough side of a grater. Dicing produces a finer result. 

Put the vegetables into a sterilized jar and pour the brine over the top. Close the lid and leave in your fridge for at least a week before using. Taste occasionally as it ferments; once you are happy with the flavour, store in your fridge for up to three months and use it as a flavor base in your favorite recipes.