In Season

Local Fresh, & In Season

Spring is a tricky season to predict. If winter lingers the asparagus spears will remain hidden in the ground, but as soon as things begin to warm up, all that was lying dormant will start to flourish. Asparagus spears will shoot up, berries will begin to ripen while growing times for almost everything will shorten.

Here in the Waikato, spring is proof positive we grow more than just grass. The Waikato is the second biggest producer of strawberries in New Zealand and provides the perfect conditions for growing asparagus. We are also a major producer of potatoes, with new season spuds arriving at the end of spring. Add to this a number of salad green, baby veg, tomato, mushroom and herb growers, there is no excuse not to support local.

Gus Tissink

Gus is our resident vegie guy. Like most of our best chefs in the region, when we need beautiful produce, Gus and his team at Bidfresh Hamilton are where we turn.

Strawberries

Spring marks the beginning of berry season. Everyone loves beautifully ripe strawberries and cream, but these spring berries are just as delicious in a savoury salad as they are on your pav. They pair as well with balsamic vinegar, pepper and basil as they do with chocolate, cream and vanilla.

Speaking of chocolate, if choc dipped strawberries are your thing, look for specialty long stemmed strawberries to make these really spectacular.

Be careful though, akin to small red sponges, strawberries soak up all the water they come into contact with so, don’t wash them and then store them or they will turn to mush and rot.

A member of the rose family and technically not a berry, each strawberry has, on average, 200 seeds on the outside.

Bidfresh 2 the Waikato!

Asparagus

The start of spring will see a spindly array of these delectable spears appear. As the season is established, grades of asparagus will be available allowing you to choose if you want thin stalks or thick ones, each allowing you to do different things. While traditionally blanched or steamed, asparagus is fantastic chargrilled but also lovely raw, thinly shaved or finely diced.

Along with the different sizes, different colours (purple and white) will also be available to offer you more ways to serve and present these symbols of spring.

Hand-picked Harvesting asparagus is labour intensive with the spears being cut by hand, usually in the cool of the night and early morning to retain maximum freshness.

Spring Highlights

Rainbow chard Forget the silverbeet your mum served you! For a start, rainbow chard is stunning. Slice young leaves and add to salads. Steam, sauté or use as a carbfree wrap. Fennel is a vegetable with a lot going for it. It’s crunchy and sweet when tossed raw into a salad, and once cooked, it becomes silky soft. Raw or cooked, fennel has a faint flavour of liquorice or anise. Rhubarb is dormant in winter but springs to life in spring and because this is new growth, the stalks in spring are lovely and tender. Rhubarb goes wonderfully with strawberries but can be used in more than crumbles and pies. Pair with pork or get creative with syrups and shrubs for a refreshing drink. Radishes come in a huge array of shapes and colours. Watermelon radish is popular among many chefs as a stunning garnish. I love Sparklers with their red tops and white bottoms, plus the young leaves are edible. French Breakfast radish are very similar but with a more elongated shape.