20 years and still growing

Story

And

recipe by Andrea Ball.

As the Willunga Farmers Market completes its 20th birthday celebrations this year, Lisa McCarthy from McCarthy’s Orchard shares her thoughts about the early days of the market and how a new generation of market-goers is embodying shopping locally and organically.

Today, Lisa and her husband Mark live and work on their 11-hectare McLaren Vale farm where they grow a range of produce from apples, asparagus and avocados through to figs, stone fruit and grapes.

But back to 2005, when Lisa was the farmers’ market manager, and there were only a handful of stallholders, she rang Mark McCarthy from Merbein in Sunraysia, asking him to have a guest stall selling his fruit and nuts. He liked the sound of Lisa’s voice, so thought he’d give it a go. And the rest, as they say, is history.

During this time, some of the market’s original stallholders, Ray and Lois Seidel, were preparing to sell their property, McLaren Vale Orchards. When Lisa and Mark married and began a family they became the new custodians of Ray and Lois’s farm, which would become the McCarthy’s Orchard that market shoppers know and love today.

The couple has further developed the orchard, transitioning to fully organic farming and their approach has gained the McCarthys a solid following. ‘People know that everything’s handmade with love,’ says Lisa.

Andrea Reggiani, originally from Modena, Italy, joined the extended McCarthy family in 2017 and sees the enormous benefits of selling through the farmers’ market, where he has become the face of McCarthy’s. ‘I loved the farmers’ market straight away,’ says Andrea. ‘It reminds me of going to the market with my mum and grandma in Italy ... The market has grown so much. A lot of people have started being more aware of buying local, and it’s an attraction now.

The McCarthys are encouraged by the evolution they have seen in farmers’ market shoppers, with the market attracting more young people from a wider area, and where parents share their love of minimal intervention produce with their children. Andrea recalls a conversation he recently heard between a father and son: ‘There was an apple that was marked and the father said, “That’s been bitten by some bugs, so that’s fine – that’s what we want”.’

‘It’s very encouraging,’ muses Andrea. ‘These kids know that bugs are good, so when they see a perfect, shiny apple in the supermarket, they question what’s wrong with it! That’s just fantastic.’

Charred corn, black bean and farro salad with orchard fruits

Serves 4 as a light meal or 6 – 8 as a side salad

Smoky charred corn, nutty farro, crunchy pepitas, creamy avocados and a zesty dressing fill this salad with a fabulous range of flavours and textures. But the real star of the show is the McCarthy’s Orchard fruit.

We’ve used the first of summer’s nectarines here – but try apples or pears, plums or grapes.

You can mix up the grains, veggies, legumes and seeds in this salad too. For a gluten-free option, try red rice or quinoa instead of the farro.

This makes the perfect lunchtime salad bowl or a side to grilled fish.

What you’ll need

½ cup (110g) farro, or your preferred grain, soaked in water overnight, drained

250ml McCarthy’s Orchard Apple Cider

2 cups vegetable stock

2 cobs fresh sweet corn, kernels removed with a knife

1 x 400g can organic black beans, drained and rinsed

3 firm-ripe nectarines or peaches, halved and cut into thin wedges, lightly chargrilled if you like

1½ cups mixed soft herbs – chives, mint, basil, dill, oregano, coriander and parsley are all good

2-3 firm ripe avocados, halved and stones removed (we used McCarthy’s Orchard’s)

2 large handfuls salad leaves

150g feta, broken into rough pieces (we used Buff Love’s)

Large handful toasted pepitas

Lime wedges, to serve

For the dressing

1 rounded teaspoon each cumin seeds and coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed

1-2 canned chipotle chillies, finely chopped

5 tablespoons (75 ml) extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons McCarthy’s Orchard Apple Cider Vinegar

Zest and juice of 1 large lime

1-2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

What to do

For the dressing, place the cumin and coriander seeds in a small bowl with the chipotle chillies and mash to form a rough paste. Whisk in all the remaining dressing ingredients and season well.To make the salad, place the farro, apple cider and stock into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes, adding extra water if needed, until the farro is cooked through, then drain.

Heat a cast iron pan over high heat. Add the corn kernels and cook for a couple of minutes so they char on both sides (be careful, the corn will pop). Lower the heat, add the black beans, and stir for a minute or so, just to warm them through.

Tip the sweetcorn and black beans into a large bowl, stir through the cooked farro, and season with a little salt and a splash of olive oil. Gently stir through the fruit along with most of the herbs and most of the dressing. Line a serving platter with the salad leaves that you’ve tossed lightly with olive oil, vinegar and salt, and then pile on the farro, corn and fruit mixture. Cut the avocado halves into chunks with a butter knife, stopping just before you reach the skin. Use a dessertspoon to scoop the halves out, still intact. Nestle these into the salad, and drizzle each with the remaining dressing. Scatter with the feta, pepitas and reserved herbs, and serve with lime wedges on the side.

Watch a live demo of this recipe with The Green Gourmet (@thegreengourmetco) at the Willunga Farmers Market on Saturday 28 January at 9.30 am