What the heck is finocchiona?

Rain and cold weather are interfering with crop production this week and it’s dampening my spirits. To cheer myself up, I decided to learn more about local meat.

Mat Valley Meats offers Alaska Grown beef, pork, elk and yak — processed any way you could imagine. There are familiar sights, like steaks, roasts, ground meat, hot dogs and teriyaki sticks, but there are also more unusual offerings such as yak sopressata, pork sauccisson de lyon, elk bratwurst, beef bacon and even headcheese. The list of pork sausage varieties alone is almost as long as this column, so I’ll leave it to you to go discover the full selection.

I walked in planning to buy prosciutto. I’ve never had prosciutto before, but it sounded fancy and I thought my family might be impressed if I cooked with it.

But the only prosciutto available that day was about the size of my torso; so I bought Alaska Grown elk finocchiona instead. I picked this particular meat for three reasons: it had elk meat in it, which seemed exotic and adventurous; the name made me think of Pinocchio; and I had absolutely no idea what it was.

After doing some Google research I learned finocchiona is essentially fancy salami with fennel seeds in it. I tasted it, loved it and decided to make a locally sourced pizza for dinner.

I made a pizza crust using some barley flour (you can get it at Non-Essentials in Palmer or Allen and Peterson in Wasilla). A good rule for integrating barley flour into baked goods is to substitute it for ¼ of the amount of all-purpose flour called for.

I topped my pizza with mozzarella cheese from Matanuska Creamery, then added onions, tomatoes and basil (from our own garden and greenhouse) and the precious finocchiona. I served a fresh local salad on the side and we washed it all down with Alaska Grown milk.

The meal was mouthwatering and got rave reviews from all who partook. I’m not a great cook; my secret is using fresh ingredients that are delicious without much tampering. You can do the same, and I’ll keep telling you about great local places to stock your pantry and fridge.

Available this week you can find romaine, head, cello, red leaf and green leaf lettuces, green cabbage, collard greens, kale greens, broccoli and rhubarb. At the Wednesday market in Wasilla and the Friday market in Palmer, you can buy broccoli, zucchini, strawberries, green beans and possibly potatoes from the Dinkel family stand. Vitali’s will be selling lettuces, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, beets, radishes, carrots, spinach, garlic, Swiss chard, turnips, rhubarb and a variety of herbs.

Bushes Bunches’ stand on the corner of the Old Glenn Highway and Robin Lane is selling turnips, radishes, collard greens, Swiss chard, beet greens, a variety of Asian greens, Chinese cabbage, kale greens, tomatoes, kohlrabi and lettuces.

Local eggs are sold at Three Bears, and you can find broiler hens at Friday Flings in Palmer. Kahiltna Birchworks syrups, ice cream toppings, candies and condiments are sold at Non-Essentials and Alaska Wild Berry Products. Local honey can be purchased at Turkey Red and local jams and jellies can be ordered online at juicejellyandjam.com.

Too busy to track down local ingredients and make something yourself? Head to Bistro Red Beet, Vagabond Blues, Rusty’s on Dahlia Street or Turkey Red and enjoy the variety of local produce used in many of their dishes. If you aren’t sure if what you’re eating is local, ask your waiter.

Do you know if any local food that’s available that I didn’t mention? Have any questions about eating local? Contact me at rachel.kenley@alaska.gov. And don’t forget to eat Alaska Grown, because it’s closer, fresher, better.

Rachel Kenley Fry is a Division of Agriculture intern who writes for the Frontiersman .