PRODUCE REPORT

yams

Add to the roasting tray and to stir-fries for a bit of winter variety. They are plentiful from June until October. Also good mashed, they may be grated raw or sliced thinly for salads. Yams are a useful source of folate and vitamins A and B6. The yellow and apricot varieties are even sweeter than the pinky-orange types. These crunchy little tubers, originally from South America, love ginger, orange and sweet and sour sauces. Still talking orange, are in good supply in supermarkets too. If buying bunches with leaves on, remove them as soon as you get home otherwise they will suck up moisture from the carrots. Warren Elwin candies a mix of yams and baby carrots to make a tasty side dish, right. Dark-leaved

(Tuscan kale) comes into its own in the winter

nero baby carrots cavolo

months too, although it is available yearround. For cooking tips, see Ray McVinnie’s article: “Know your cavolo nero” (bite.co.nz) and search for Bevan Smith’s recipe for that classic Tuscan soup which is a thick, comforting mix of veges, bread and cannellini beans, topped with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It’s hard to keep up but, unfortunately, are expensive again. They join kumara (especially the gold ones) and which are off the menu for many of us. Fortunately and are good buying as are Australian round

ribollita, cauliflowers avocados sprouts broccoli brussels green beans. Green kiwifruit

are our stand-out fruit pick of the week. and

Limes satsuma mandarins

are also affordable purchases.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and plunge 500g frozen broad beans in for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove, strain and plunge in ice- cold water to cool. Remove the skins from the broad beans. Place the beans into a food processor with 2 cloves garlic, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1 small green chopped chilli, tsp ground cumin, ¼ cup chopped coriander,

Pulse 1 cup defrosted/cooked peas, a handful chopped mint, 1 small clove chopped garlic and the juice of ½ lemon in a small- bowl food processor to lightly mix. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and pulse to further combine. Season with sea salt flakes, freshly ground black pepper and more lemon juice to taste. Spoon through 225g ricotta.