In Season

Berry Interesting

Summer is the only time I really make any effort in the vegie garden. If you know me well, you know I’m easily distracted, so a well-tended vegie patch with subsequent plantings and a continuous crop of fresh vegetables really is in the too hard basket.

Come spring when my raspberry canes begin to sprout, and the strawberry plants dotted throughout my garden flower, I keenly dig in. I’ll plant several tomato plants, simply because I can’t choose between cherry, beef steak or Roma, and then I’ll be enticed by the heritage varieties. Did I mention I’m the only one in the family that eats tomatoes! Courgettes and cucumbers will be plonked in along with maybe a capsicum or chilli and my annual attempt to grow a watermelon or the largest pumpkin for the Great Pumpkin Carnival.

It turns out, with my annual planting, I turn my little suburban plot into a berry farm each year and I’m not talking about the raspberries and strawberries I let go wild. The botanical definition of a berry is a fruit produced from the ovary of a single flower in which the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible fleshy portion. Think about this: this means tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, melons, pumpkins, chillies and capsicums are all berries. It also means those raspberries and strawberries are not true berries!

With this info in mind, I decided to see what else I could learn about my favourite summer produce and asked Gus Tissink from Bidfresh Hamilton to give me some insight into what’s new and how he enjoys his summer berries.

Bidfresh 2 the Waikato!

Tomatoes

Favourites of mine include the melody cocktails from Beekist. They are super consistent in terms of quality and are left to colour on the vine so are sweet with a slight acidic tang. Otherwise the green zebra from our West Coast heirloom mix, visually appealing and exceptional eating.

Eggplants

Not sure what to say here except I love them! Sliced lengthways, oiled, seasoned and BBQed. Pair with other summer veg in caponata, miso glazed … YUM!

Cucumber

Ever wondered why telegraph cucumbers are wrapped? The skins are quite delicate and easily damaged during handling and transport. They also dehydrate very quickly so the plastic wrap protects them and extends their shelf life.

Melons

A lack of imported melons this season means we won’t have melons on the market until the New Zealand season begins in mid-January. On the plus side, this is a great opportunity to support local.

Capsicums

Summer grown varieties like the long red sweet points or banana peppers are ones to look out for. Roasted and blistered over charcoal for dishes like escalivada (or escalibada) or with Boquerón’s (marinated white anchovies) on crostini.

Chillies

Played chilli roulette? Padron chillies are generally mild but every now and then you get a wild one that’s super-hot. Served simple, pan roasted in oil and seasoned with flaky sea salt, they are a common bar snack in Spain. Poblano a flavourful but mild chilli, great for stuffing or when dried, they are called chilli ancho. Rehydrated and added to mayonnaise they make the perfect addition to your summer sliders.

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.