What are the best fruit and vege buys of the week? Our New World produce experts give us all the answers.
Fresh this week: "Apple season is looking beautiful at New World as warm summer temperatures and cooler autumn evenings bring rich colour and full flavour to new-season fruit," says New World Fresh Expert, Brigit Corson. Look out for autumn's braeburn, a sweet tart apple that keeps very well and holds its shape when cooked, making it the perfect choice for pies and to eat baked as a healthy dessert.
Beside the buttercup and crown pumpkins (both good buys), we suggest trying the butterkin variety at New World too. “It’s a cross between a butternut and a pumpkin” says Brigit, “with vibrant orange flesh that’s the perfect blend of sweet and buttery flavours”. Look out for spaghetti squash. Bake them before shredding their flesh into strands for no-carb pasta.
Broccoli is very good buying again too and, with large, firm heads, is optimum quality.
Try it in: Now that red kumara is more affordable, back it goes on to the weekday menu. Ray McVinnie scrubs and then bakes his kumara dry, scraping out the flesh to make an easy gratin top for a smoked fish pie – the dry roasting ensures it has plenty of flavour. To keep things simple, the weeknight-friendly meal uses frozen mixed veg in the creamy smoked fish layer.
Kumara and smoked fish gratin
Moving on: The blueberry season has only a couple of weeks left, along with the last of summer's stonefruit and sweetcorn. Local rock melons and outdoor beans have nearly finished their run for the year and it's going to be harder to find summery herbs: dill, lemon balm and Vietnamese mint.