Our friends at New World have got some great pointers this week including the wonders of kumara, new-season avocado and surprisingly versatile daikon.
NEW IN: Kumara are extra appealing at this time of year for mashes and roasts and the sweetest of them all – the orange ones – are especially good buying. Oval pink/orange yams are also plentiful now and, all being well, will be here until spring.
Candied yams and baby carrots
BUY NOW: “Summer fruit is back!” says New World Fresh Expert Brigit Corson “you’ll start to see Californian nectarines and peaches, and Washington cherries arriving into New World stores over the next couple of weeks”. Pleasingly, the price of avocados continues downwards as the season gets into gear. These new-season avos have a milder taste and are smoother than old-season fruit.
LOOK FOR: Long white daikon radishes. Try them, like swedes or yams, thinly sliced in a salad. They make a sweetish, slightly spicy, addition. In Chinese restaurants daikons are made into “turnip cakes” and are cooked with meat in braised dishes; they are used with cabbage to make Korean kimchi and are grated in Japan and served with sashimi. Brigit says “in season now, our Pukekohe daikons are plentiful and excellent buying. Look for them at your local New World and choose firm ones and peel them before use. They will keep for a week in the fridge”.
MOVING ON: Spring onions are with us all year but supply has tightened recently along with other leafy greens, as usually happens this time of year when the cool and frosts set in. Ditto micro herbs. “We’ve enjoyed a great season of local satsuma mandarins but expect there are only a few