You know winter’s finally moving on simply by visiting a local market. With the new season comes plenty of fresh produce and fantastic flavour.
Awesome asparagus
Is there any food that says spring more than the appearance of asparagus? October is when you’ll see these tasty treats on sale across the country. While most asparagus in New Zealand is green, the purple variety is becoming more common – and if you’re really lucky, you might even find white asparagus, which is grown out of the sun. Fresh asparagus is firm and sounds ‘squeaky’ when rubbed; check the tips when buying too, as mushy tips are a sign of older asparagus. Break the ends of the asparagus away (it will break naturally at the sweet spot where the stem goes from tender to woody), and steam, fry, barbecue, grill or boil. Wrap in bread with a little cheese and bake for 15 minutes for a tasty cheese roll; add to salads for extra crunch, or simply steam, season and dip in melted butter. Yum.
Bag a banana
While citrus fruit is still available, it can start to get expensive at this time of year. It’s still too early for New Zealand strawberries (though you can probably get Australian if you can’t hold out), but bananas are always a great option to buy in October. It’s a great base for your smoothie – just add some frozen fruit, a dollop of yoghurt, some chia seeds and water for a great start to your day. Freeze overripe bananas; they are perfect for cakes and drinks. If you’ve got an avocado you want ripening up, pop it in a bowl with a banana for a couple of days; bananas produce ethylene gas, which acts as a plant hormone, softening other fruit.
Pantry staple: Very vanilla
The only edible fruit of the orchid family, vanilla in New Zealand is mostly sourced from Vava’u, an island in Tonga. This delicate, fickle flower grows on a vine on vanilla farms, and each vine needs its own tree to grow on. It can take three to five years for a vine to reach maturity and begin to flower – and the flower blooms for just one day. In order for the plants to produce beans, they have to be pollinated that day. It’s a labour-intensive process, making proper vanilla extract well worth its price tag. Don’t save it for sweet dishes only; vanilla is a wonderful ingredient to add to vegetable glazes and vinaigrettes, and it’s especially delicious in a butter with fish or seafood like crayfish and scallops.
