Yet again we have another warm Saturday, it makes life at the market so much easier and so much more enjoyble. At the market we have fresh milk and ricotta from Evansdale.  In the way of vegetables you will find leeks, parsnips, brussels sprouts, pumpkin and squash and Ray Goddard has dug his first crop of YAMS...

McArthurs Berry Farm (Steve thank you for the Leeks)

LEEK AND BLUE CHEESE PIZZA

Leeks are so versatile, use them as you would onions. Try them melted together with a good blue cheese. It really is a combination made in heaven!

Serves 4 40 ml olive oil 1 garlic clove, peeled 1 birds eye chilli, halved 25g butter 2 small leeks, halved lengthwise and then thinly sliced across 30g parmesan cheese, freshly grated 100g mozzarella cheese, grated 1 ½ Tbsp finely chopped oregano 1 ½ Tbsp finely chopped parsley 60g good quality blue cheese, crumbled (Whitestone Highland Blue) Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dough: 300g strong white flour 7g dried yeast 1 tsp salt 180ml lukewarm water 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil

Put the olive oil, garlic and chilli in a small bowl and set aside to infuse the oil.

To make the dough, combine the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl, then stir in the water and oil. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small frying pan, add the leeks and cook over a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Place 2 heavy-based baking sheets or terracotta tiles in the oven and preheat the oven to 250C. Combine the parmesan, mozzarella and herbs in a small bowl.

Cut 4 sheets of baking paper, each large enough to hold a 22cm pizza. Divide the risen dough into 4. Dust the pieces of baking paper with a little flour and roll out each piece of on the paper, making a round 22cm in diameter. Brush with the flavoured oil and scatter with the cheese mixture, followed by the leeks, then the blue cheese. Slide one pizza, still on the paper, onto each hot baking sheet or tile and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Serve immediately. Cook the remaining pizzas in the same way.

LEEKS - a few suggestions

Use leeks as you would onions Soften the leeks in butter and add to your mashed potato (great with a grilled pork chop Potato or chickpea and leek soup Leek, bacon and cheese filled crepes Leek and potato gratin Braised leeks with shallot and caper vinaigrette

Judge Rock Wines Central Otago (thank you Paul for the wine and quinces)

QUINCE CRUMBLE

Serves 4

500g quince, peeled and cored 3 large apples, peeled and cored 200g sugar ½ cup water (approx) 1 cinnamon quill 1 fresh bay leaf (optional)

Topping: 100g plain flour 50g butter, chilled and cut into small cubes 50g light muscavado sugar Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste 40g rolled oats

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C

Cut the quince into bite size chunks, place into an oven dish with the sugar, cinnamon quill, bay leaf and water. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Cut the apple into bite size chunks and add to the quince. Remove the foil and continue cooking until the apple and quince are tender.

Meanwhile put the flour and butter in a food processor and process briefly until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the muscovado sugar and whizz for a few seconds more. Grate the nutmeg straight into the mixture, add the oats and blend again briefly.

When the quinces and apples are tender, remove from the oven and scatter over the topping – don’t pat it down or level it. Bake the pudding for 20 minutes until the topping is nicely browned. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Whitestone Cheese (thank you Richard)

CHEESE – always make sure you get your cheese out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before eating. Why not try cheese as the Spanish do with Membrillo (quince paste) recipe found in Farmers Market Journal! Strong cheeses like blue go particularly well with sweet items like figs fresh or dried, roast quinces, and toasted fruit loaf to name just a few. Soft cheeses are great with fresh bread, oat cakes, membrillo Hard cheeses like cheddar go well with nuts, fruit chutney, raisins and membrillo. The contrast of flavours and textures in cheese is best paired with the opposite, such as strong and sweet, soft and crunchy. If offering cheese at a dinner party, concentrate on maybe one or two varieties of cheese. Pair them up with the appropriate accompaniment and make sure you get your cheese out of the fridge in plenty of time as the flavour and texture of your cheese improves 100%

WAITAKI BACON AND BEANS ON TOAST

Serves 4

4 slices bacon steaks, cut into chunks (or use any of their bacon products) 1 can haricot/cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 onions, sliced thinly 1 clove garlic, sliced thinly 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped Generous pinch smoked paprika Handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped Knob of butter and glug of olive oil 4 slices good quality bread cut into 1 cm thick slices

Method

Put the oil and butter in a medium size fry-pan add the onion, bacon and garlic. Add the smoked paprika, cook until the onion has softened and the bacon is starting to caramelize and go nice and brown. Add the tomatoes and beans, cook until the tomatoes soften and cook into a thickish sauce. If looking too dry add a dessert spoon or two of water, you are not wanting to make it watery it should still have a thickish, saucy look.

Meanwhile, grill the toast until golden on both sides. Rub with a clove of garlic cut in half. Only rub the garlic once or twice over the bread as it is very strong. Drizzle with extra virgin olive, place one piece of toast per plate.

Add the chopped parsley to the beans, check for seasoning. Spoon a generous amount onto each plate, add another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if desired and serve immediately.

NB; Great with a fried egg!!

Jakob and Ilana (thank you for the delicious Falfalals)

ALISON WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING VENDORS FOR THEIR BEAUTIFUL PRODUCE

JAKOB – AMAZING FALAFELS, HUMMUS, LEMONADE AND DIPS. WAITAKI BACON AND HAM MCARTHURS BERRIES WHITESTONE CHEESE