In Season

Gus Tissink from Bidfresh Hamilton gives us his picks for summer produce, plus a few ideas on how to enjoy them.

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Summer for me is about simple meals, BBQs with friends and family and enjoying the best seasonal produce. Here are a few of my favourites, which I would also add sweet baby Jersey Bennes and juicy sweet corn to. The afternoons are often hot, so I find we eat later in the evening or lighter meals take the place of heavier cooked meals. Tomatoes are popular in our house year round but summer sees some of the more interesting coloured, vine ripened heritage varieties come through. They also carry cool names like Little Black Dress, Tangerine Dream, Ivory Icon, Indigo Blush, and Hey, Romeo!

In my line of work I’m fortunate enough to have access to them readily but they do pop up at farmers markets and specialty grocery stores too. Beekist produce a product called “Chef’s Selection” which is a good substitute. Most of the major supermarkets carry it if you can’t get your hands on the heritage varieties.

Mostly we enjoy them raw, and favourites include Greek or Mediterranean salad, fattoush and fried haloumi, or if I’m feeling a bit fancy a caprese salad with heritage tomatoes, Clevedon buffalo cherry mozarella, basil, caper berries, a good quality EVOO and some sort of vinegar with plenty of salt. Courgette, kamoriki, zucchini, baby marrow, summer squash, whatever you call them, are generally abundant and affordable and feature frequently on our summer table. Originating in Italy they were popular throughout the Mediterranean long before the western world. Typically, we see the green skinned variety but there are a number of variations from yellow skinned, variegated, half yellow, half green (called zephyrs) … Then there’s patty pan or scallopini that look like little flying saucers.

They often find their way to the BBQ, sliced lengthwise, seasoned, rubbed with olive oil and grilled over charcoal. Otherwise thinly sliced on the mandolin, with lemon, goat’s cheese (like chèvre), honey and toasted pine nuts. If you grow your own courgettes through the summer, the flowers, both male and female (with the baby fruit attached) are edible. Best harvested in the morning before the sun and bees get to them, that way they stay closed which makes them easier to stuff. Try filling them with ricotta and chopped basil, dip them in a simple light batter and deep fry them … delicious!

Last but not least are the King Capsicums, Sweet Points or Bull’s Horn. These are a long, red, sweet capsicum/pepper which have a conical shape tapering to a rounded point. The skin is smooth and glossy; the flesh is thick and crisp, offering a sweet, fruity flavour with a mild heat that gradually increases as the pepper matures. These are a versatile fruit and can be eaten raw in salads, roasted or stuffed but are sensational grilled. I blacken them on the BBQ whole, throw them in a bowl and cover them with cling film till they are cool enough to handle. The seeds and blackened skin are then easy to remove. I slice them in to strips then marinate them in olive oil, crushed garlic, Italian parsley and season with salt and pepper. Great eaten as is or elevate it with crostini, marinated feta and topped with a white anchovy.

Gus Tissink

Gus is our resident vegie guy. Like most of our best chefs in the region, when we need beautiful produce, Gus and his team at Bidfresh Hamilton are where we turn.