Marketfresh Report Week Ending 10th March

Information Courtesy of Sue Dodd, Sydney Markets

Plums
Celebrate the onset of autumn by indulging in succulent plums. Adding a burst of flavour and colour, their sweet, red or yellow flesh makes them a perfect addition sliced into salads. You can roast them with pork belly or bake them into pastries and cakes for a delightful twist.
Pears
Treat yourself to the delicious Williams' pears. Roasting these pears makes for a fantastic addition to roast pork dishes and pairs wonderfully with parsnips. When selecting pears, opt for firm, mature ones, as they continue to ripen after harvesting. Let them ripen at room temperature for the best flavour. For poaching or roasting, firm pears work best to achieve optimal results.
Why not try...
Kiwiberries
Hurry! kiwiberries, are only available for 2 to 3 more weeks. These grape-sized delights are green, fuzz-free, and resemble regular kiwifruit when sliced open, featuring emerald green flesh and tiny black seeds. Their flavour is akin to kiwifruit, perhaps slightly sweeter
Eggplant
Autumn heralds the peak season for high-quality eggplants. Look for firm, heavy eggplants with taut, glossy, deeply coloured skin and a fresh green stem. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week, but handle them carefully as they bruise easily.
Onions
The alluring aroma of fresh caramelising onions is guaranteed to please. Barbecues are incomplete without onions served with snags, or add pickled onions to a steak sandwich
Pumpkin
Jap pumpkins shine when roasted for salads or incorporated into pasta dishes, adding a golden hue and delightful nutty sweetness. Whether in a Massaman curry, risotto, or frittata, their bright orange flesh and sweet, nutty flavour enhance every bite.
Figs
Juicy and flavourful figs are now in season. Enjoy them with rocket, toasted walnuts, fresh burrata and a drizzle of olive oil and sherry vinegar for a savoury delight
Grapes
Roasting grapes enhances their natural sweetness, rendering them syrupy and irresistibly delicious, perfect for topping desserts like tarts or cheesecakes. They also serve as a delightful addition to a bitter-leaf salad, providing a burst of sweetness to balance the dish. With so many different varieties, it's a fabulous time to enjoy white, red, and black grape varieties
Avocado
Avocados continue to be a delicious and quality buy. New season Shepard avocados have started, but there continues to be good value in Western Australia Hass and South Australian rich and creamy Reed Avocados
Mesclun
Reimagine your salads with fresh, hydroponically grown lettuce varieties like oak leaf, mignonette, coral, and butter. These greens are available abundantly and affordable.Mix and match them to create exciting flavour combinations and elevate your salads to new heights.
Mushrooms
Bag up a kilo of firm and flavoursome Hawkesbury-grown mushrooms. For a delicious and quick meal, try threading button mushrooms and diced haloumi onto skewers and cooking them on a hot barbecue or char-grill until just cooked.
Chestnut
Chestnut season has started. Fresh chestnuts are a taste sensation. While most nuts are high in fat, chestnuts are low in fat and rich in complex carbohydrate. TO ROAST CHESTNUTS, cut a cross in the outer shell, place chestnuts in a tray, and cook at 200C for 15-20 minutes or until the shell splits.
Apples
Indulge in the irresistible flavours of the new season's Royal Gala, Mi, Fuji, Jazz, Tango, and Red Delicious apples. These apples are exceptionally crisp and bursting with taste.
Sweet persimmons
Get ready for the sweet persimmons season! These delightful fruits, also known as Fuji fruit, resemble traditional persimmons but come with a unique twist: you can enjoy their firm and crispy. Their vibrant tangerine-coloured flesh adds flavour to salads or cheese boards
Carrots
In the cooler months, carrots shine in various dishes. Utilise vibrant carrots for roasting, mashing, stir-fries and salads. Opting for a kilo bag is a thrifty choice
Sweet potato
Sweet potato Immune-boosting kumara (orange sweet potato) is packed with vitamins and fibre. Delicious roasted, chopped orange sweet potato (kumara) with red onion wedges in olive oil flavoured with cumin and coriander for 30 minutes or until tender.
Asian greens
This week, Asian greens boast top quality and unbeatable value. For optimal flavour and freshness, make it a habit to purchase Asian greens regularly and cook them until just tender.


Seasonal Recipes - Autumn


Spanakopita
This is a real favourite and incredibly easy to make. Don't be put off by the filo pastry. The real trick is allow it to reach room temperature and work fast. I use a pastry brush to brush the sheets lightly with oil. Thanks to Costa Georgiadis for passing this recipe of him mother's on.

Japanese miso and tofu soup
This is one of my favourite soups to make. It's super-easy and you just feel like it's doing you good with each spoonful. To maintain the probiotic properties of the miso, bring it to a boil slowly and turn the heat off within 2 minutes of boiling

Gluten Free Orange and Almond Cake
I found this recipe on SBS food and immediately made it a bit healthier by cutting down on the amount of sugar it contains. It's super-moist and rich so you don't need a big piece to feel satisfied.

Jacket sweet potato with nutty wombok slaw
For some cheap and cheerful scrumptious comfort, try baking sweet potatoes in their skins with nutty wombok slaw, piled over the top. We love this for lunch or dinner.

Salmon & shitake miso soup
One of my all-time favourite meals when the temperature is dropping just enough to benefit from the comfort of an immune-boosting hot broth. 

Grilled salmon with golden beetroot, broccoli and freekah
Here's a snap, crackle a pop meal of pure deliciousness. It's got flavour, texture and beautiful colours and tops the charts in healthiness. IT takes a bit longer to prepare that some of my meals but it's very worth it

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