Celebrate this season’s freshest produce with delightful dishes, savoury and sweet.
Eating seasonally is not only a more sustainable and healthier way to eat, but it’s also a way of eating more mindfully. It connects us to our food and helps us value the foods we have available at different times of the year. In summer, this is easier than ever because it’s when most of our favourite fruits and vegetables have their moment in the sun.
What’s in season?
Plant families that thrive at this time of year are the solanaceous and cucurbit families. Solanaceous plants include chillies, tomatoes, eggplant, and, perhaps surprisingly, potatoes. Cucurbits refer to the melon family and include cucumber, zucchini, rockmelon, watermelon, and pumpkin.
Most of the veggies we love in summer, such as tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, eggplants, and zucchinis, are actually fruits. Fruits contain seeds, which sets them apart from vegetables such as carrots or kale. Summer’s abundance of warmth and sunlight is what allows many fruits to develop maximum flavour and sugar content, which equals deliciousness! This is why sun-ripened tomatoes always taste the best.
At this time of the year, we are also treated to a bounty of stone fruits and berries. Apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, and mangos all have a turn featuring in our lunch boxes throughout summer. Early in the season, there is also a short window for harvesting fresh berries, such as raspberries and boysenberries.
For the window-sill herb gardeners, summer is really the only time basil thrives in temperate climates. So for most of us, now is the time to be planting and harvesting lots of basil, and living on pesto!
Serving up summer
Try the following recipes to enjoy the juicy delights of our summer produce.
Pizza with home-made mozzarella
For the perfect slice of summer, you can’t go past freshly baked pizza with a topping of seasonal veggies such as eggplant, zucchini, chilli, and fresh basil. Using fresh tomatoes to make your own passata takes it to the next level.
Marinated eggplant cannelloni
This dish is not only vegan and gluten free, but also offers much more of a flavour punch than regular pasta-based cannelloni. It’s a wonderful way to use eggplants, tomatoes, and basil.
Raspberry and coconut trifle
Luscious layers of tart raspberry paired with rich coconut custard and cream come together in this trifle to create the most heavenly celebration of summer berries.
Apricot custard tart with Persian glaze
In this glorious dessert, a silky custard filling is encased in a homemade pastry shell, adorned with fresh apricots, and topped with an orange blossom-scented Persian glaze.
Images: Kelly Harwood Photography
