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Late summer is prime time for hopheads and foodies to obsess over the Pacific Northwest’s bounty. Plump and juicy heirloom tomatoes fill market stands and seasonal menus with vibrant colors and rich, vivid flavors that pop with intensity. Most of the world brews with floral herbaceous hop cones dried and pelletized for year-round use for bittering and flavoring. But as the No. 2 hop growing region in the country, Oregon has unprecedented access to fresh “wet” hop cones still ripe with delicate aromas and oils.
We all know someone who hates tomatoes (but somehow loves ketchup), and who can blame them hating on those mealy, bland tomatoes that fill supermarket stands most of the year? These dishes could change their minds.
Ricotta Ravioli
Chef Patrick McKee makes some of Portland’s best Italian food as Estes, an ongoing dinner residency inside Broder Nord. The ricotta ravioli were inspired by a childhood dish by his nonna she called “tomato and gold,” with marinara made from fresh-picked heirlooms slow-roasted with olive oil, garlic and oregano, served with butter, basil, sautéed corn and fresh grated Parmesan.
Scottie’s Pizza Peach Caprese
Summer peaches or summer heirloom tomatoes? Scottie’s chooses both in the peach caprese pie with the familiar pairing of fresh basil and pulled mozzarella complemented by bright and tangy heirloom tomatoes and floral honeylike peaches and a balsamic drizzle to sum up the entire season in a slice.
Fresh Hop Volatile Substance
The first of two fresh hop versions of Von Ebert Brewing’s Volatile Substance IPA is fresh hopped with dank and stone-fruit flavors of Strata hops added hot during pre-fermentation, leading to more pronounced fruity notes. The second hits in early October with Mosaic hops added cold in post-fermentation, producing a stankier sulphur, chlorophyll and punchy green hop flavor and aroma.
Fresh Hop King Crispy
Deschutes Brewery struck gold when it created this winning German-style Pilsner for the inaugural Bitburger Challenge in 2019, a competition that pitted eight breweries against each other to create the best authentic Pils. It’s now a year-round supermarket bestseller in six-packs, but look out for an extremely small-batch fresh hop version made at the Portland brewery for tap handles only.
