Ingredients are fading due to winter coming to an end and now the new season ingredients are plumping up, lambs are arriving and flowers are blooming.  But beware the variety gets less before it gets more, yams, pumpkins and parsnips are on the way out but savoy cabbage and lighter salad leaves are appearing.  If you make the most of crunchy fennel to liven up you meals and utilise crisp juicy apples and pears to add a zing to your salads you may be surprised to see how tasty and interesting your meals can be.

This weeks menu was a pleasure to create as the ingredients spoke for themselves. Plump, tasty sausages from Havoc have many uses but I am now thinking ease of cooking like BBQs and one pot meals as I want to make the most of the lighter evenings.  Adding interesting salads using ingredients which are on our doorstep like apples, fennel and robust tasty leaves and finishing with a mean-dressing you will be satisfied and amazed at how much more time you are getting outside in your garden!

Don't forget to come by and get a sample of food, watch me cook and talk endlessly about food and all those great producers who make this happen for us week after week!  If you do miss me at the market you can always catch me at my café Delicacy by Alison Lambert in Maori Hill which is where I celebrate local producers throughout the week! Have a great day.

See you at the mobile kitchen (by the stairs) next to Harbour Fish.

 

 

ROASTED PUMPKIN WITH HERBS

Pumpkins are coming to an end so one last easy recipe to celebrate this mighty vegetable. Pumpkins love a bit of spice and they love a cooling sauce both compliment the velvety sweet flesh of pumpkins.

Serves 4

800g pumpkin, de seeded and skin removed

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 red onions, sliced into thick wedges

8 cloves garlic, left in skin, slightly squashed

Generous pinch dried chilli flakes, or 2 whole dried chillies

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed

4 gratings fresh nutmeg

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Tahini sauce

100 ml greek yoghurt

2 Tbsp sour cream or crème fraiche

1 lemon, juice of ½

2 Tbsp tahini paste

2 Tbsp parsely, rougly chopped

1 Tbsp coriander, roughly chopped

Salt

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 190C and place a large roasting pan in the oven to heat up.

Cut the pumpkin into 8 even sized wedges and place into a large bowl.  Add the garlic, onion, oil, spices and seasoning, toss together to coat the pumpkin well.

Place a large piece of baking paper onto the tray and pour the contents including all the seeds onto it spreading the pumpkin out so it evenly bakes.  Cook the pumpkin for about 20 minutes or until it is golden brown and caramelised and the flesh is tender.

Whilst the pumpkin is cooking make the refreshing sauce. Add the yoghurt and sour cream into a bowl, add the tahini, lemon juice and season lightly, mix well to combine.  Add the herbs and half the amount of olive oil and stir to combine. Taste and adjust if necessary.  Put into a clean serving bowl and drizzle over the remaining oil. Chill until required.

To assemble: When the pumpkin is cooked place onto a large platter, ensuring all the toasted seeds, roasted garlic and sweet onions are scattered over the pumpkin, drizzle any fragrant oil over as well and serve with the creamy yoghurt herb sauce.

PORK AND FENNEL SAUSAGES WITH APPLE AND FENNEL SALAD

Now that the evenings are getting lighter and the sun higher we are thinking BBQ’s and Havoc’s plump sausages work a treat, but let’s mix it up with a fresh, crisp salad like the one below.

Serves 4

4-8 pork and fennel sausages

Apple and fennel salad

30 ml olive oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp yellow mustard seeds

2 shallots, or 1 medium red onion, finely diced

1 bulb fennel, finely sliced

2 tsp fennel leaves, roughly chopped

2 tart apples, cored and cut into wedges

Method

Preheat the BBQ or Grill in the oven to medium-hot.

Place the plump sausage directly onto the grill and cook rotating often so that they are golden all over and cooked through (12-15 minutes).

Whilst they are cooking make the salad: Begin by making the dressing, adding the oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds and garlic together in a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.

As soon as you cut the apples place directly into the dressing and toss to coat (this will help discolouration.  Continue by adding the finely sliced fennel, shallots or red onion and fennel leaves.  Season lightly with sea salt flakes and stir gently.

To serve place the cooked pork and fennel sausages onto a platter and serve with the crisp, fragrant salad alongside.  As simple as that!

 

LEEK AND BLUE CHEESE FRITTERS

Serves 4

For the sauce

100g Greek yogurt

50g sour cream

50g blue cheese

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp finely chopped dill leaves

For the fritters

3 leeks (450g trimmed weight)

1 small onion, diced finely

140ml olive oil

25g parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

1 egg white

120g self-raising flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 egg

150ml milk

55g unsalted butter, melted

Method

To begin start with the sauce.  Put all the sauce ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, blitz the mixture until it is well combined and almost smooth, set aside.

Cut the leeks into  thickish  rounds, rinse and dry. Over medium heat, sauté the leeks and onion in a pan with a generous glug or two of oil until soft - about 10-15 minutes (remember you are trying to soften them not colour them) - then transfer to a bowl and add the parsley, dill, spices  and salt. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, egg, milk and butter to form a batter, mix through the cooked leeks and onion.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and gently fold through leek mixture.

Put two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Spoon the mixture into the pan to make fritters, large (8) or small (16) and fry for two to three minutes a side, until golden and crisp. Transfer to kitchen towel and repeat, adding oil as needed, until the mixture is used up.

These are definitely best served warm with the creamy sauce generously served with these.  I also like to add a peppery green salad as this contrasts well.

 

MIXED LEAF, APPLE AND FENNEL SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE SAUCE

This salad is using up a bit of this and a bit of that from the growers and also utilising some great sauces and combinations from the menu. Easy.

Serves 4

200g chard, rocket, spinach leaves (or whatever combination you desire)

1 apple, sliced into wedges

½ red onion or 2 spring onions sliced thinly

Sea salt flakes

For the blue cheese sauce

100g Greek yogurt

50g sour cream

50-100g blue cheese

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

Small handful, finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tsp finely chopped dill leaves

 Method

Begin by making the sauce which is taken from the sauce used for the fritters and set aside.  Wash and dry the lettuce well, place onto a large platter.

Scatter over the sliced apple and onion, season lightly with salt and a light squeeze of lemon juice. Toss lightly to combine.

Generously drizzle over blue cheese sauce and enjoy!

Alison would like to thank the following vendors for their fantastic produce

Sunrise Bakery – fresh baked goods

Havoc Pork – pork and fennel sausages

Janefield Hydroponics – mixed bags of greens (chard,rocket,spinach)

McArthur Berry Farm – leeks

Evandsale Cheese – bay blue cheese

Brydone Organics – fennel

Harwarden Organics – apples and pears