How Halal Pastures Became a Greenmarket Star

"Stepping into the sprawling stand on the northern end of Union Square on a Wednesday feels like entering a whole different Greenmarket: colorful hand-lettered signs label heaped greens, herbs, squash and peppers, Hindi pop or Egyptian oud plays over the speakers, farmers in kufis and hijabs offer samples, and a mister keeps three kinds of cilantro and 15 lettuces crisp. As a 40-something-year devotee of the city’s markets, I’ve been fascinated since they started with a small tent two years ago not just because the produce is extraordinary—vibrant arugula, red celery, sweet pepper, chards, mustards, tiny concentrated-flavor zucchinis, ginger and cucamelons—but because of their clear purpose: “Always halal, always organic.” Founders Samer Saleh and Diane Aboushi Saleh grew from half an acre in 2015 to farming 125 acres with a 25-person upstate staff, and they’ve built tight chef relationships by asking cooks what they want, inviting them to the farm, and adapting crops (for example, producing 10 varieties of shell beans dried for year-round sale). Diane’s handmade signs (part classroom for her home-schooled kids) and the couple’s consistency, transparency and respect for the product keep chefs and home cooks coming back, whether for weekly CSA blue bags that shoppers rave about or for restaurant R&D and weekly chef runs on Wednesdays and Fridays." - Regina Schrambling