Produce report

At last, chillies that don’t cost $1 each! The season is just beginning, so head to your local farmers’ market and you’ll nab a bagful for a couple of dollars. Caps Capsicums and courgettes are cheap buyingbuyin too but, while they may be wit with us all year, they won’t be so ple plentiful or affordable after April. Outdoor tomatoes join the b bounty. Pick up bags of plums,p peaches and nectarinesne before they disappeardi at the end of this monthm — it’s time to get intoint the kitchen to freeze and preserve for later. ToT pep up meals to come, try theth recipes on these pages. For more, see our sweet preserve preserves recipe collection on bite.co.nz.

Chillies are in se season from April to June. Store at room temperature (they( may dry out but they will be okay) or throw them into a zip-lock bag and freeze for leaner, more expensive, times. In general, the smaller the chilli, the hotter it will be. Narrow, dark and pointy all indicate heat too. The intensity also changes as they ripen. The most commonmon chillies in New Zealand are Asian green cayenne nne peppers or red Mexican ones. Jalapenosnos are also often grown here — they are those rounder, chubby looking types s you find sliced on your Mexican meals. Red jalapenos have a tough skin so are more often cooked into pickles or dried.

Rocket is back in decent quantities in supermarkets but, along g with baby spinach, the quality has been variable of late and the shelf lifee lower, thanks to rain and humidity across cross the North Island.

Celery and parsnips are good buying uying now. Though you may already have beenen harvesting them in your garden, mail order figs should be available about now. Check out Te Mata Figs in Hawke’s Bay, which couriers them across the country. Figs are one of your digestive system’s best friends, fresh or dried. They contain an enzyme called ficin that helps calm your gut. They are mildly laxative and are a rich source of potassium, fibre, iron and calcium along with antioxidants. We have been discussing g figs for a while now in the Produce Report — that’shat’s because there are early varieties available able in January and February and a later cropop in April and May.

Look out for outdoor grapes. Sometimes seen in supermarkets, they are more likely to be found at your local greengrocer’s or, again, at a farmers’ market. These perfumed beauties leave the hothouse ones for dead and can also o be bought sometimes from roadside stalls, especially in areas where there e are vineyards, a no-brainer really. Store inn the refrigerator, loosely wrapped in paper er towels. Wash them just before use. Suzanne Dale 1 Thinly slice 1.8kg zucchini and 500g onions. Cover with water and ½ cup salt and leave for 1 hour. Drain and let drip for about 15 minutes then place in a saucepan. 2 Boil together 4 cups cider vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 2 tsp celery seeds, 2 tsp ground turmeric, 2 tsp dry mustard. Pour over the zucchini and onion and stand for 1 hour. 3 Place over a medium heat, bring to the boil and boil for 4 minutes. Bottle in hot jars.

Nectarine and vanilla jam

Makes 1 kg or 4 x 250ml jars 1 Using the point of a sharp paring knife, score the skin of 1.5kg ripe nectarines. Place the fruit in a bowl then cover with boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. 2 Peel nectarines, discard the skin and stones, then roughly chop the flesh. 3 Put the fruit in a heavy based saucepan or preserving pan. Add 1 cup water. Slit 1 vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the pan. Add the pod along with 2 Tbsp lime or lemon juice and 1.5kg raw sugar. 4 Stir to combine, then bring to a boil and stir while cooking, for 45 minutes. Ladle into hot, sterilised jars. Recipe by Amanda Laird, Viva

Susan Godinet’s zucchini pickle

This simply made pickle from Bite reader Susan Godinet won our 2015 preserving competition.

Nam jim

Nam jim is fiery and fragrant, with a beautiful balance of sweet, salty and sour. Use for salads, grilled meats and fish. 1 In a mortar and pestle pound 4 scraped, cleaned and chopped coriander roots and 2 cloves chopped garlic to a fine paste. 2 Add 1 small hot red chilli and 6 long, red, deseeded and chopped chillies and pound further until a smooth paste is achieved. 3 Add 2 Tbsp palm sugar and stir to dissolve then add 100ml lime juice and 40ml fish sauce. Balance the sauce with a little extra sugar, lime juice or fish sauce to taste. Recipe by Jo Elwin