The Brick Oven Garden

If there is an opening bell to the garden season, it is March 1.  For brick oven cooks, planning a garden that will provide us with abundant vegetables for broiling, roasting, and toppings, makes sense.

Virtually all of the produce from an average garden can be used to make a brick oven feast.  However, certain vegetables continue to be the staples of brick oven cooking, especially in the European/Western culture.

 Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, garlic are central.  Arugula, kale, leeks, and the panoply of herbs add to the mix.

And don't forget the mushrooms.  Eric Milligan of the New Hampshire Mushroom Company is a leading grower of gourmet mushrooms (and a great guy). www.nhmushrooms.com/

Heirloom varieties of tomatoes make that essential ingredient one that can occupy an entire garden itself.

Then there are the outliers: beets, squash, potatoes, apples, peaches, and, for the botanically adventurous, figs.

Lastly, a side salad will balance the meal with its freshness and crunch. Do it all. And start now.