It’s a family affair this month – vegetable siblings celery and celeriac are “very good” quality and in “plenty of supply”, according to Graham Gee, a senior buyer at the Happy Apple in Melbourne.
Gee says to enjoy celeriac now, as they’re at their peak. As the weather starts to warm up, they begin to shrink in size, with less availability, he says. The Happy Apple and Panetta Mercato are selling them for $5 a piece.
For a left-of-field taco filling, Alice Zaslavsky roasts celeriac wedges until caramelised on the outside and fluffy on the inside, resulting in a “surprisingly meaty” flavour. If you don’t have the patience to peel celeriac’s gnarly skin, you can pop it into the oven whole or wrap it in “sea bread” as per Tom Hunt’s recipe. And of course, celeriac’s creamy interior is a sure-fire win in a hearty soup – Anna Jones’s recipe combines the root vegetable with leeks, apples and butter beans.
Michael Hsu, the operational manager at Sydney’s Panetta Mercato, says there is an abundance of celery coming from Victoria and local growers. Gee agrees: “Everybody should be eating crunchy water.” Celery is selling for $2.50 a bunch at the Happy Apple, Panetta Mercato and Perth’s Spudshed. At supermarkets they’re $4 a bunch.
You’ll need 600g of celery – about half to three-quarters of a bunch – for Yotam Ottolenghi’s herby chicken stew. About half a bunch will do for Meera Sodha’s congee recipe, where a portion of the celery is pickled and the remainder goes into an aromatic mirepoix.
There will be blood oranges
It’s still a good time for citrus, says Dean Lamb, owner of Watts Fresh in Kyneton, Victoria, with blood oranges joining the juicy lineup of imperial mandarins and dekopons.
Blood oranges are between $4.50 to $5.90 a kilo at the supermarkets and $4 a kilo at Watts Fresh and Panetta Mercato. Depending on your mood, Anna Jones has sweet and savoury uses: in a warm salad of kale and sticky blood orange, or in rooibos-infused mini cakes.
Gee is excited about the “heaps” of strawberries available at the moment. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a really good supply,” he says, adding that you can expect to pay $3.50 to $4.50 for a premium punnet. At Spudshed, strawberry punnets are $3.99, and at the supermarkets they’re $4.
You’ll need 300g for Benjamin Ebuehi’s lemon cake with mint syrup and roasted-strawberry buttercream; but if you’re not a “cake person”, use them in Marie Frank’s biscuit-y strawberry shortcakes.
Green and gold
Hsu says zucchini and corn are also doing very well. There’s produce coming out of Queensland and New South Wales, which means there’s a lot of supply. At Panetta Mercato, zucchini is $4 a kilo. It’s about $6 a kilo at Watts Fresh and $4.90 at the supermarket.
Hsu adds that corn is particularly sweet. They’re going for $2.50 a piece at Panetta Mercato, $1.50 at the Happy Apple and between $1.70 and $1.90 at the supermarkets.
Chetna Makan throws whole corn, cobs and all, into a tangy yet creamy curry that takes its cues from west India. Ben Tish slow cooks zucchini to create a jammy, fancy toast topping with preserved lemon and ricotta. And combine both ingredients in Jackie Middleton’s fast corn and zucchini fritters.
Spinach, kale and silverbeet are also going “really well”, says Gee. At the Happy Apple, bunches of the various leafy greens are $4 to $5, and at Spudshed prices are between $2 and $3.
Not a lot of shallots
Spring onions have been a “bit small” and quite affected by the colder weather, says Gee. As a result, they’re more expensive than normal. Hsu says they’re about $3 a bunch when they’re typically about $1.50.
There’s also limited supply of asparagus, with the season starting a little late, says to Lamb. He says it should kick in at the end of month, and will peak in September and October.
In brighter news, the first crop of mangoes have just landed from the Northern Territory. All three produce experts say the season has started earlier than usual. Lamb and Gee say they’re currently quite expensive at about $7 to $8 a piece, but will drop as more crops become ready to harvest. “We should expect a long Darwin season for mangoes this year,” says Gee.
Buy:
Apples
Blood oranges
Celeriac
Celery
Corn
English spinach
Fennel
Kale
Leeks
Mandarins
Pears
Radicchio
Silverbeet
Strawberries
Zucchini
Watch:
Asparagus (season just starting)
Mango (season just starting)
Avoid:
Grapes (end of season)
Spring onions (weather-affected)
