Of farming, fishing and farmers marketing

The Eat Alaska Project is a partnership of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and Alaska Grown.

Seafood, salad greens and summertime go together like hook, line and sinker. Think hot grilled salmon over a crisp Caesar salad; a cold shrimp Louis; any fresh-caught fillet alongside a salade nicoise. Likewise, the following recipe for Erik Slater's elegant snow crab salad with goat cheese and gochujang is an unconventional, Asian-inspired dish that incorporates Alaska grown produce with the summer's best seafood for a match made in heaven.

To learn more about the relationship between Alaska-grown produce and its connection to Alaska's farmers market industry, we caught up with Arthur Keyes -- a Mat-Su farmer, manager of the South Anchorage Farmer's Market and member of the board of directors for the Alaska Farmers Market Association and Alaska Farmland Trust -- to discuss farming, fishing and farmers marketing.

He stepped away from tending to cucumbers in his 3,800-square-foot commercial greenhouse to take the call.

"There are a lot of cucumbers," he said of his three-acre farm, adding that he has more than 2,000 zucchini plants and one acre of Yensis sweet onions, among smaller crops of carrots, potatoes, beets, radishes, lettuce, cauliflower, strawberries and more. He also keeps a beehive.

With fewer pests and longer days, Alaska is a prime climate for a wide variety of vegetables. "We have a growing season unlike any in the country," Keyes said. It's called high-latitude agriculture, and it's a real thing.

"High-latitude agriculture is a sweeter agriculture," he added, explaining that with 19 hours of daylight and cooler nights for carbohydrates produced during the day to convert to sugar after sunset, conditions couldn't be better for root vegetables.

"We end up with carrots that are eight times sweeter than Lower 48 vegetables," Keyes said. "Ninety-five percent of our produce is imported from the Lower 48," he said. "It does so well here. Why import it?"

"If you had time to watch the plants, they would change before your very eyes. The zucchini will double in size today," he said on June 16, five days before the summer solstice. "Throw in this phenomenal weather -- things cannot help but grow."

Thanks to the explosion of statewide farmers markets over the past decade (from six to 40), you can enjoy much of that produce farm to fork. Keyes sells 85 percent of his produce to local farmers markets, and says there's been a renaissance of them because of the number of small farmers and fishermen in Alaska.

At most markets, seafood is available right next to produce -- a small solution to what Keyes says is a lack of a local distribution chain. "There is no local seafood market in Alaska -- no specific place for (fishermen) to distribute. The end result is that the farmers market is the closest thing we have to a seafood market," he said.

With markets as far-flung as Skagway and Wrangell, are there efforts within the Alaska Farmers Market Association to expand further? Keyes said there's potential, but that it would be unwise to create more markets than there are farmers and fishermen to support them. Right now, he said the market is sustainable at 30-40 markets statewide.

"A grocery store is not interested in 100 pounds of the best strawberries you've ever eaten," he said. "But at the farmers market you'll be the most popular person there, you'll get a premium price and you'll stay in business."

It's a win-win-win.

Keyes said that because of the markets' success in creating access for small farmers and fishermen, "People are coming into the industry because they have hope."

"Farmers and fishermen both have something to offer; they both have the same goal" of being sustainable and profitable, he said.

"We're in the same boat together."

Snow Crab Salad with Goat Cheese and Gochujang Vinaigrette

Recipe courtesy of Chef Erik Slater, Seward Brewing Company, Seward

Start to finish: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

1 Alaska grown large beet, red or golden

1?2 Alaska grown cucumber

1?2 pound Alaska snow crab meat pieces, shells discarded

2 Alaska grown radishes, plus green tops, if desired

1 cup assorted Alaska grown greens (watercress, arugula, baby spinach)

1?2 cup hazelnuts, chopped and toasted

Gochujang Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

1 tablespoon Alaska honey (or other wildflower honey)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 clove Alaska grown garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 lime, juice and zest

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Lemon Mascarpone Goat Cheese:

2 ounces mascarpone, softened

2 ounces goat cheese, softened

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1?2 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk

1?2 teaspoon Alaska sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place beet on a small baking sheet and roast for 30 - 40 minutes or until tender; cool, peel and cut into small cubes; set aside. Slice cucumber in eighths lengthwise, then cut on the bias into one-inch pieces; set aside. Wash radishes and greens of any dirt; dry thoroughly. Separate leaves from radishes; set aside. Very carefully, slice radishes paper thin using a mandolin or very sharp knife; set aside.

To serve:

Place cucumbers, crab, greens and radish greens, if using, in a bowl; add about two tablespoons of gochujang vinaigrette; toss. Taste and add more vinaigrette, if desired; set aside. Using the back of a large spoon or small spatula, smear a broad, thin layer of cheese across the bottom of four plates. Sprinkle with hazelnuts. Add beet cubes on and around the cheese layer; place cucumber-crab-greens mixture in the middle. Garnish with sliced radishes.

This story is sponsored by the Eat Alaska Project. Make this dish and post a photo on social media! Tag it with #eatalaska.

This article was produced by the special content department of Alaska Dispatch News in collaboration with Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and Alaska Grown. The ADN newsroom was not involved in its production.?