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June/July
Winter food is a mix of warming meals with an urge to escape to tropical regions
via their fruit. Check the variety you'll find in the markets now.
Potatoes (and onions) at the Sydney Market
If you think KIPFLER potatoes are exotic, the number of varieties that are
available from some of the farmers’ markets will really surprise you. Even the
commercial growers are supplying new varieties.
NICOLA, KING EDWARD and SPUNTA are becoming common (and all tasty) but
look out for… CHARLOTTE - the biggest selling salad potato in Europe, blonde
and buttery. SERIFINA – the yellow-skin Serifina potato retains its firmness
when cooked which makes it great for salads, stews and casseroles. KURODA –
you’ll pick its dark red skin and smooth yellow flesh. A finer texture and is
considered even better than DESIREE in flavour. ALMERA - long, oval and
with a clear, creamy coloured skin, this potato has smooth yellow flesh. Another
perfect all-rounder, with a buttery flavour. It can be baked, boiled or made
into chips. And you might see BF15 - not the most romantic name, but this
is versatile new French variety with a teardrop shape. It tastes good baked or
boiled.
STORING POTATOES
All potatoes are best stored (preferably
in a cardboard box) in a cool well-ventilated place, but not refrigerated as
their natural sugar content turns into starch which can alter their flavour
and texture
TANGELOS
The Minneola Tangelo is a deep orange-coloured citrus fruit and was first grown
in Australia in 1992. A hybrid fruit, the Tangelo is a cross between a Dancy
mandarin and Duncan grapefruit and you can identify them immediately by their
distinctive 'little neck'. Early season Tangelos come from Mundubbera and
Gayndah in Queensland, then from NSW, SA, VIC and WA. While slightly more tart
in flavour than mandarins Tangelos are popular because they’re easy to peel,
virtually seedless and they're one of the juiciest of all fruits. They have
twelve segments (count them) that pull apart easily. Use tangelos wherever you
would use oranges or mandarins.
HONEYDEW MELONS
The yellow skin honeydew melons this winter. With pale cream flesh, these melons
are amazingly sweet yet delicate in flavour and best served slightly chilled.
The smooth white-skin honeydew melons with pale green flesh are less sweet.
STRAWBERRIES
The 'Camerosa' strawberries from Queensland actually do have flavour. They’re
picked over the next two months and have the 'Camerosa' sticker on the
packaging. Queensland grows over 24 million strawberry plants each year and
almost 70% are Camerosa variety. Strawberries will keep for 4-7 days in a
covered container in the refrigerator. No strawberry tastes good cold, so remove
them from the refrigerator for about 4 hours before eating.
FENNEL /
ANISEED
 With a gentle aniseed flavour and texture a little like celery.
There’s a difference in flavour between the male and female fennel. The longer
fennel bulbs are ‘male' and have a more savoury flavour, and the rounder bulbs
are female and are slightly sweeter. You’ll notice that when eating them raw
(sliced in a salad) but when cooked the difference is lost as the flavour
becomes more subtle. Again, there are small 'baby' varieties that are just that
bit milder.
Try this Fennel, Orange and Olive Salad – layer finely sliced fresh
fennel with sliced new season navel oranges and chives. Season with salt and
ground pepper. Top with baby rocket leaves, black olives and drizzle with
virgin olive oil and verjuice.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
The name suggests middle eastern origin but it’s
actually an English mangling of the Italian girasole “turning to the sun".
That’s what the tall flowers on the plants do, not surprisingly because they’re
a variety of sunflower. They have nothing to do with artichokes. The
knobbly tubers look a bit like fresh ginger with a nutty sweet flavour and
slightly crunchy texture. They can be eaten raw in salads, peeled and chipped,
mashed, made into soup or casseroles but we like them baked in their skins.
Jerusalem artichokes go with leeks, garlic, parsley, chives, tomatoes, lemon,
olive oil, celery, chicken, veal, Gruyere cheese or Parmesan. If you’re peeling
them, place in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent
discolouring.
’TOPLESS’ PINEAPPLES
Minus the leafy tops, these Queensland pineapples are
more compact and easy to carry home. If you test ripeness by plucking a leaf
from the top, relax, that’s a bit of myth. As they dry out you can always pull
a leaf. A fragrant tropical aroma is the best indicator of ripeness and flavour
as pineapples don't ripen after harvesting. The ‘topless’ pineapples are
consistently sweet and low in acid, they have a high Vitamin C content, pleasant
crunchy texture and are less fibrous. (The tops are used to propagate a new
pineapple.)
RUBY
GRAPEFRUIT
If you pucker up eating a bitter grapefruit each morning,
try the red-flesh varieties. Star Ruby, Rio Red and Flame are just a few of the
new varieties being grown in the warm climates of Queensland, Western Australia
and Northern Territory. These ruby-fleshed grapefruit are sweeter, lower in acid
and very juicy.
PARSLEY
You’ll see both the curly and flat-leaf parsley. Curly (frilly) parsley has a
mild flavour and is used in salads, cooking, as a garnish and is preferred in
England. Flat leaf parsley (Italian parsley) has a stronger flavour that
complements many European meat and fish dishes and is now very popular in
Australia. An easy garnish made from flat-leaf parsley is the versatile
Gremolata.
GREMOLATA
Combine ½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1-2 teaspoons grated lemon
zest and 1 clove of finely chopped garlic. It’s always sprinkled over Osso
Bucco but you can also add it to pumpkin or fresh tomato soup, grilled fish,
barbecued prawns, pan-fried chicken fillets or lamb cutlets.
(Did you see our blog entry on the Canadian site called
Gremolata?)
GOLD KIWIFRUIT
 The gold smooth-skin kiwi fruit are popular with people who don’t
like the fuzz of green ones but they are also sweeter than green kiwi fruit,
lower in acid and have a similar attractive flesh with the distinctive seeds
when sliced. Buy firm plump fruit and leave to ripen at room temperature until
they yield to gentle pressure. Once ripe, store in the refrigerator and use
within a few days. There are mini varieties now sold as Kiwiberry
in punnets that are crunchy and can be eaten halved or whole.
And last but not leeks (sorry)
LEEKS
Are at the peak of their season in June/July. Because the soil is heaped
around them you need to fan out the leaves and rinse very well. Use only the
tender white part as the green tops are chewy and fibrous when cooked.
Regards,
David Harris. © Harris Farm Markets P/L
Seasons’ Best information comes from our market visits, information provided
by interstate readers and from Harris Farm Markets. |
