The summer crops are now available, thanks to polytunnels. HUGO ARNOLDfills his basket
SUMMER IS AS good as it gets in the food world. Prime produce, and much of it home grown. Yet what exactly do we mean by seasonal? Strawberries from Wexford, potatoes from just about everywhere, and salad leaves from just down the road if not at the bottom of the garden.
After the long cold winter, we have enjoyed endless bright days through April and much of May, but temperatures remained stubbornly low for much of that time. The reality of our climate is that a good deal of what we want to enjoy now should not really be available until later in the summer. But polytunnels (those fields covered in neat rows of plastic) are all about delivering produce earlier. And why not?
The following is a guide to the fruit and vegetables that should be found in good farmers’ markets and those supermarkets – few and far between – that actually work with local producers in earnest.
Asparagus
The salmon of the vegetable world, once rare and now ubiquitous. Hopefully more Irish growers will include asparagus among their crops. The ranking goes something like this: English, French, Spanish and then South America. Boil or steam it, but take care, it goes from cooked to mush in an instant. Hollandaise is a traditional accompaniment, but butter and lemon juice is a quick alternative. The Italians serve it with olive oil and lemon juice, or use it in risotto. A quirky way with asparagus is to serve it with soft-boiled eggs to dip the spears into.
Broad beans
These are a top summer treat, but you must pod them, blanch them and then remove the grey outer skin, which is bitter. This is easily done, but is a bit of a chore. Serve the beans tossed in a salad, with grilled meat or fish, or goats’ cheese, the latter somewhat more summery than beetroot, which has become a default vegetarian starter on too many menus. In Italy, young broad beans are podded and eaten raw with pecorino and white wine.
Morels
This is an early summer mushroom that along with broad beans and asparagus makes for something of a holy trinity. Morels are those oblong, pitted, wrinkled mushrooms that have an intensity like no other; warm damp summer earth and grassy notes. They make a fabulous pasta sauce with cream; they are heavenly with chicken, and can turn a steak into a feast.
Peas
Frozen peas you can enjoy at any time of the year, but fresh peas are a real challenge. A pea, once picked, starts to convert its sugars into starch, which is why you can do all that podding only to end up with woody pellets. Shop carefully, however, and you can get something deeply satisfying, with the sweetness underlined by meaty vegetable attitude. What doesn’t go with peas? A little bacon, butter and a splash of white wine can make a meal in itself.
Strawberries
Variety is everything and sadly too many of the strawberries grown are variations on Elsanta, selected not for their flavour, but primarily for their ease of handling and long shelf life. The same can be said for picking; too much pale red does not a delicious strawberry make, although it might make for longer life. Look out for varieties such as Florence, Alice, Rosie, Cambridge Late Pine and Rhapsody.
Leaves
Saladings in their widest sense – lettuce, radishes, watercress – are coming into their prime growing season. Be sure to grow some, if only in a pot. A scant dressing and seasoning really is all that is needed. That and maybe the barbecue fired up, with a steak or two searing on it.
harnold@irishtimes.com
SUMMER FOOD SPECIAL
