Are you an aspiring chef, a seasoned foodie or a humble home cook who enjoys cooking?
From juicy mangoes to mighty mushrooms, there’s ample fresh produce arriving at your local fruit and veg shop this week for you to savour and try out new recipes in your kitchen.
Starting with nature’s superfood, sweet blueberries are currently in abundant supply from New South Wales – remember to wash blueberries just before use. Other berries such as strawberries and raspberries are also in adequate supply. Grab a few punnets of your favourite berries and whip up a berry cheese tart or add them to the cheese platter and enjoy with drinks.
Beat the summertime heat with well-supplied refreshing rockmelons from Daintree and succulent rockmelons from North Queensland. Use them to make salsa, smoothies, salads or slushies.
Apple varieties such as Red Delicious and Granny Smith from Victoria are excellent eating and in good supply. Australian grown Corella pears are a must-buy this week. Corella pears have a smooth green-yellow skin with a fabulous red blush. Take your salad game to the next level by adding roasted pears and beetroot to a bed of rocket leaves with crumbled feta and pistachios.
Some of the best-selling fruit this week is juicy pineapples, versatile avocados and creamy bananas. While pineapples are a wonderful addition to fried rice and desserts, avocados and bananas make nutritious and colourful toast toppers. In stonefruit, yellow peaches are having a great week with some excellent early volumes.
Kensington Pride mangoes from Darwin and Katherine are at their peak, while R2E2 variety is also around. For an easy dessert, try mango ice cream sundae! Slice mango in cubes and top it with vanilla ice cream; garnish with roasted almonds and serve immediately! Passionfruit and limes are in light supply.
In vegetables, the Markets is brimming with mushrooms from Gatton, sweet potatoes from Bundaberg, eggplants from Bowen, red onions from South Australia and cauliflowers from Victoria. It is also a good week for Lebanese cucumbers, carrots, and celery – cut them into long strips and pair them with hummus or tzatziki to enjoy a healthy and substantial snack.
If carving out pumpkin is on your to-do list this Halloween, then pick up some orange glow pumpkins that are streaming in straight to your local fruit and veg shop from Far North Queensland.
Large crisp heads of iceberg, cos and hydro lettuce varieties are bountiful along with spinach, leeks, silverbeet and kale. Asparagus and broad beans continue to enjoy a long season, whereas sweetcorn is improving in supply from Kalbar. Other great value buys include coriander, beetroot, radish and ginger, while zucchini, broccoli and cabbage are short.
This week’s top pick is flavourful cherry tomatoes from Bundaberg. Sold in punnets or loose, look for smooth, brightly coloured tomatoes that are plump for their size. Store at room temperature for a couple of days, or in the fridge once ripe. Cherry tomatoes make a gorgeous addition to pasta dishes, salads, pizza toppings and lunchboxes.
Report supplied by Brismark