From crispy apples to juicy tomatoes and humble carrots, there is no shortage of great value fresh fruit and vegetables at your local fruit and veg this week. So, now is the time to take advantage of the beautiful late summer produce and create delicious home-cooked meals.
Most pear varieties such as William, Corella and Bosc are widely available and so are Stanthorpe-grown Royal Gala and Granny Smith apples. While Galas make great out-of-hand eating, Granny Smith apples are best used for cooking, due to their tart flavour. Recovering in price are avocados from North Queensland and strawberries. Combine and toss them with salad greens and pecans to make a simple yet refreshing lunch. There is a great supply of large Keitt mangoes from Mareeba, rockmelons from Griffith, New South Wales and an abundant supply of pineapples from all over Queensland perfect for late summer fruit salads.
We have been very excited to see the first appearance of persimmons in the Market from Amamoor. Persimmons vary in shape, size and colour from light to dark red, orange depending upon their ripeness. They have tough edible skin like apples and can be crispy or soft. Add persimmons to salads, muffins, cookies or cheese platters.
Peaches, nectarines, plums, grapes, figs, lemons and dragon fruit are all having a strong season, whereas supplies of bananas and watermelon are moderate. Blueberries and passionfruit are short.
The combination of wet weather and hot temperature in Queensland have affected the supplies of cucumber, lettuce, herbs and broccoli, however, the southern states are helping to fill the gap.
Asian vegetables such as wombok and bok choy are plentiful, stir-fry them with oyster sauce and garlic or ginger for an enhanced flavour. With good volumes and sizes, Tasmanian carrots are beautiful eating at the moment. Give a fresh lift to salad and sandwiches by adding grated carrot or add chopped pieces to bulk up your one-pot dishes.
Local green beans and flavourful truss tomatoes are value buys this week along with pumpkin, sweet potatoes and red onions. For an Indian-inspired snack, try onion pakoras. Mix sliced red onions with chickpea flour, chopped baby spinach, mint, minced ginger, chillies, and coriander. Season with salt, turmeric and deep-fry or air-fry them until brown. Enjoy these crispy delightful balls with tomato chutney on a rainy afternoon.
Other well-supplied vegetables include capsicums, eggplants from South Australia, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, chillies, sugar snaps and cabbage.
This week’s top pick is excellent quality zucchini arriving from Shepparton. Mild in flavour, zucchinis are worth adding to your basket this week — perhaps for chargrilling, adding to pizza, sliced into chips, grating into savoury muffins or even sweet brownies! Look for firm zucchinis with smooth, glossy skin that feel heavy for their size. Store in the crisper section of the fridge and use within two to three days.
– Produce report supplied by Brismark