Raspberry tart with hazelnut crust and lemon verbena ice cream

1/31

What’s hitting its peak in October? Winter squash. Cutting into a squash can be half the challenge -- some varieties have skins so tough they seemingly require a hammer and chisel. But your diligence will be rewarded. Click here for details. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

2/31

What’s hitting its peak in October? Pomegranates. Select pomegranates that are heavy for their size--they’ll be the juiciest. Don’t worry too much about the color of the rind: It can vary from completely red to reddish-brown without it affecting the quality. Do look for deep color though. Click here for details -- and recipes. (Larry Crowe / Associated Press)

3/31

What’s hitting its peak in October? Asian pears. So many to choose from, including: Shinseiki, which has a very crisp texture and a flavor like honey, walnuts and flowers; 20th Century, another crisp pear that tastes like a sparkling combination of apples and citrus; Kosui, which has a vanilla undertone; and Chojuro, a buttery Japanese pear with a caramel sweetness. Click here for details. (David Karp / For The Times)

4/31

What’s hitting its peak in November? Fuyu persimmons. Persimmons should be kept at room temperature until they are fully ripe. Then they can be refrigerated for as long as a couple of weeks. Fuyus are brilliant simply sliced and squirted with lime juice. Click here for details. (David Karp / For the Times)

5/31

What’s hitting its peak in November? Lima beans. Childhood trauma from eating canned lima beans? Get over it. There are few vegetables as delicious as a properly cooked, fresh lima bean, and there are few easier to prepare. Click here for details. (David Karp / For the Times)

6/31

What’s hitting its peak in November? Brussels sprouts. Choose Brussels sprouts that are vivid green and are tightly closed. As they sit, the leaves will begin to separate and the edges will yellow. Squeeze the head, it should be hard enough that there is very little give. Click here for details. (David Karp / For the Times)

7/31

What’s hitting its peak in November? Wild mushrooms. Fresh chanterelles seem to be getting more plentiful and easier to find. Even fancy grocery stores often have them in stock. But they’re a tricky mushroom to handle -- they dry out and lose their fragrance quite quickly. Still, you want them to be firm, not soft. Click here for details. (David Karp / For The Times)

8/31

What’s hitting its peak in November? Walnuts. Get them now, before the holidays, when the meat is sweet and slightly creamy and they haven’t had a chance to develop any sour rancidity. The shells will be fragile enough to crack with your hands. Click here for details. (Lew Robertson / Getty Images)

9/31

What’s hitting its peak in December? Beets. Select beets that are heavy for their size and show no surface nicks or cuts. If they’re sold with their tops on, the greens are always a good indicator of freshness as they show wilting very quickly (plus the fact they’re delicious). Click here for more. (File photo / Los Angeles Times)

10/31

What’s hitting its peak in January? Tuscan kale. This green goes by many names. Whatever you call it, cook it carefully and enjoy the creamy texture and deep, sweet flavor. Click here for more. (David Karp / For The Times)

11/31

What’s hitting its peak in January? Fennel. Look for fennel with fresh-looking greens on long branches. (As the fennel sits, the greens wilt and grocery managers trim them.) The bulbs should be bright white with no discolorations or soft spots. Click here for more. (Douglas Sterling / For The Times)

12/31

What’s hitting its peak in January? Kishu mandarins. Highly sought-after, the Kishu is a tiny little fruit never much bigger than a ping-pong ball. The flavor is intensely candied and the fruit is reliably seedless. Click here for more. (David Karp / For The Times)

13/31

What’s hitting its peak in February? Carrots

Remember when carrots were orange? Today, you can find them in a surprising assortment of colors: Royal scarlets that are so red they’re almost purple; solar carrots that are a sunny yellow; lunar carrots that are pure white; and atomic carrots that are a candy-apple red. Click here for more:

How to prepare: Glaze carrots by slicing them into medium-thick rounds, then cooking them over medium heat in a covered skillet sprinkled with minced shallots with a little water and a lot of butter. When the carrots become tender, remove the lid from the pan and increase the heat to high to reduce the pan juices and butter to a glaze. Keep a sharp look out to keep from scorching.

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14/31

Hitting its peak in February? Cauliflower

Not so long ago, cauliflower was about the most boring looking vegetable on the planet, coming in beige and only in beige. Today, cauliflower is a riot of color. Click here for more:

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Market fresh: Cooking through the seasons

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Pick out a wine with Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila

Want a restaurant’s recipe? Culinary SOS to the rescue (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

15/31

What’s hitting its peak in February? Radishes

While radishes used to come in only one color -- red -- there are many different varieties of radishes at markets now, including Icicle, which is pure white, Easter Egg, which is multicolored, and French Breakfast, which is white-tipped blushing to a deep pink at the stem. Click here for more: (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

16/31

Hitting its peak in February? Chinese cabbages, such as baby bok choy. Click here for more:

RELATED:

Market fresh: Cooking through the seasons

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Want a restaurants recipe? Culinary SOS to the rescue (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

17/31

What’s hitting its peak in March? The English pea. Click here for more: (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

18/31

What’s hitting its peak in March? Strawberries. Probably the best varieties are old favorites Chandler, Gaviota or Seascape -- taste and see which seems better from that farmer on that day. The main commercial variety is Camarosa, which can be a good berry if it is harvested when it is nearly black. Click here for more. (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

19/31

What’s hitting its peak in April? Radicchio. Round heads can be torn and used the same as any other salad green. (Radicchio is especially nice when finished with some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.) The longer heads tend to be more bitter, but they turn almost caramel sweet when grilled until soft and dressed with olive oil and vinegar. Click here for details. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

20/31

What’s hitting its peak in April: Spring onions. A spring onion isn’t a type of onion; rather, it’s an onion that has been harvested at an immature stage, when it has just begun to form a round bulb and the top is still green. At this point, it will seem sweeter than a mature onion. Click here for details. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

21/31

What’s hitting its peak in April? Cherimoyas. This warty green fruit may not look like something you’d want to eat, but its rough exterior hides a heart that’s pure custard. (In fact, one common nickname is the custard apple.) The flavor of the fruit reveals its heritage, for it is very sweet and wildly fragrant with a kind of tropical tutti-frutti appeal. Click here for details. (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

22/31

What’s hitting its peak in April? Fava beans Fava beans have ascended to culinary stardom contrary to all reason: They’re expensive, it takes a mountain to wind up with a molehill of beans, and they sometimes require an extra peeling. Still, is there any taste that promises spring as much as that bright flash of green you get from a fava bean? Click here for details. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

23/31

What’s hitting its peak in May? Apriums. In the last several years, designer crosses between plums and apricots have been progressively more popular. Later in the summer we will see the varieties variously called plumcots and pluots, which are closer to plums. Right now we’re getting apriums, which more closely resemble apricots. Click here for details. (Karen Tapia-Anderson / Los Angeles Times)

24/31

New potatoes. Many people generically refer to any small potato as “new,” but there’s a lot more to it than that: Truly new potatoes are those that have been freshly dug and brought to market without curing.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

25/31

What’s hitting its peak in May? Oroblancos. Introduced in the 1980s, Oroblanco has what many connoisseurs believe to be the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity with a delicious piney quality similar to a great pink grapefruit. Click here for details. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

26/31

What’s hitting its peak in May? Cherries. Cherries are one of those foods that inspire a feeding frenzy on first sighting. When you spot the first cherries in the market, it’s almost an automatic reaction that you’re going to buy a whole bag and wolf them down. Often, though, you’re better off waiting a little bit. Click here for details. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

27/31

What’s hitting its peak in July? Early figs. Connoisseurs debate whether these figs are sweeter than fruit from the main harvest. The rest of us are just happy to have them available. Click here for details. (David Karp / For The Times)

28/31

What’s hitting its peak in July? Zucchini. Look for zucchini that are small to medium-sized (no longer than 6 to 8 inches). They should be firm and free of nicks and cuts. Really fresh zucchini will bristle with tiny hairs. Click here for details. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)

29/31

What’s hitting its peak in July? Santa Rosa plums. Introduced in 1906, the Santa Rosa is still the gold standard for farmers market plum flavor, though it has fallen out of favor commercially. Click here for details. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)

30/31

What’s hitting its peak in July? White-fleshed peaches and nectarines. Once a rarity, white nectarines have become popular in the last 10 years. But most modern varieties are what plant breeders call sub-acid--they taste simply sweet. Click here for details. (David Karp / For The Times)

31/31

What’s hitting its peak in July? Blenheim apricots. A ripe Blenheim has a depth and richness of flavor that no other apricot approaches. Click here for details. (David Karp / For The Times)

May 31, 2006 12 AM PT

Total time: 2 hours, plus 1 hour chilling time for dough plus overnight chilling for ice cream

Serves: 8

Notes: From executive chef Joshua Skenes of Stonehill Tavern. Hazelnut flour can be purchased at Erewhon Natural Foods in Los Angeles, selected Mother’s Markets and selected Whole Foods Markets. Any local flower honey can be substituted for the acacia honey. Lemon verbena is available at farmers markets; plants are available at some nurseries.

Lemon verbena ice cream

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

1 cup fresh lemon verbena leaves, crushed in a mortar

10 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1. Heat the cream, milk and lemon verbena in a saucepan until the temperature reaches 170 degrees, and the mixture is just starting to simmer. Remove from heat, cover and steep for 30 minutes. Strain out the lemon verbena.

2. Using an electric mixer, whisk the yolks with half of the sugar until the mixture is pale in color and a ribbon consistency.

3. Add the remaining sugar to the saucepan with the cream mixture and bring it back to a simmer, cooking until the sugar dissolves. 4. Slowly whisk in a third of the hot sugar-cream mixture into the yolks to temper, stirring constantly. Pour it all back into the pan and continue to stir until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Pour into a bowl and set over a bowl of ice water until cool.

5. Refrigerate overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker the next day according to the maker’s instructions. Makes a generous quart.

Raspberry tart

1 3/4 cups, plus 1 tablespoon flour

2 1/4 cups, minus 1 tablespoon hazelnut flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) chilled butter

4 pints raspberries, divided

1/2cup sugar

1/4cup acacia honey, warmed

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, hazelnut flour, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar. Cut the butter into small chunks and incorporate into the flour mixture, leaving bits of butter visible in the crumbly dough.

2. Cover with plastic and let the dough rest in the refrigerator one hour. Divide the dough into eight portions and gently press into eight 4-inch round removable-bottom tart molds. Do not press too firmly or the crust will be tough.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

4. Purée 1 pint of raspberries with the sugar. Spread the purée onto the hazelnut crust. Arrange the remaining raspberries on top and drizzle with the warm honey.

5. Serve the tarts with a scoop of lemon verbena ice cream and a drizzle of acacia honey.

Each serving with half-cup scoop of ice cream: 1,062 calories; 14 grams protein; 118 grams carbohy- drates; 11 grams fiber; 63 grams fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 396 mg. cholesterol; 443 mg. sodium.

Raspberry tart with hazelnut crust and lemon verbena ice cream

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