We're increasingly thinking outside the square when it comes to fresh produce, writes Estelle Sarney.
Paying a visit to the greengrocer is not what it used to be, at least not in some places. While variety in vegetables once extended to broccoli and bok choy, now you can find exotic sounding produce such as celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, cavolo nero and Belgian endive - all grown right here in greater Auckland, and in market garden towns like Whakatane.
Barry O'Neill and Earl Rigden have been in the fresh produce business for nearly 20 years and have run Art of Produce in Ponsonby for the past six.
Their main clientele is restaurants - about 150 of them within a 15km radius - but Art of Produce is also open to the public, who can benefit from the same wholesale prices as cafes and fine dining establishments.
"There have always been good chefs around who have used unusual produce, but we've noticed the public getting more adventurous in the past five to seven years," says Barry. "We have mums come in at lunch-hours, or couples at weekends, who emerge from the fridge with something they have no idea what to do with, so we give them some tips and they come back next week to try something else."
Today, Barry shares his knowledge with us. He also gave us a box of goodies to take to Nancye Pirini, executive chef at the Jet Park Hotel, who showed us how the pros can turn raw ingredients into a five-star meal they've designed on the spot, and make it look easy:
Celeriac ($14/kg)
This bulbous member of the celery family grows underground at Pukekohe market gardens and has an intense flavour. You can turn it into chips, grate it into salads or use it in mayonnaise.
Jerusalem artichokes ($6/kg)
Grown underground in gardens in Glenbrook and Whakatane, these look like giant pieces of ginger but have a completely different taste. You can use them in gnocchi or puree them to put beneath a slab of steak.
Belgian endive, or witloof ($11/kg)
Grown in the dark on top of sandy soil, Barry knows of only one supplier of this vegetable with white, silky leaves. They're curved like little dishes and are often used for that purpose to hold other delicacies, but can also be chopped into salads to add a sharp taste.
Cavolo nero ($5/kg)
This vegetable, grown in Glenbrook, has a tough texture and strong flavour. Serve it instead of its cousins spinach and silverbeet, puree it to use in vege drinks or soups, or saute it with stir-fries.
Adriatic figs ($15/kg)
Also grown in Glenbrook, these look beautiful when sliced in half with their ruby red flesh surrounded by white pith and bright green skin. Barry likes nothing better than to place them on the barbecue skin down, dribble over some honey and brown sugar and serve with mascarpone ice-cream.
Fennel bulb ($7/kg)
Grown on top of the ground in Kumeu, this strongly scented white vegetable can be sliced thinly into salads or sauteed in a pan with fish.
Enoki mushrooms - "golden needles" ($4.50/100g)
Like all mushrooms these are grown in the dark, and have a surprisingly strong flavour for such a delicate-looking vegetable. Steam them as an accompaniment, or use in a warm salad.
Urenika potatoes ($3.95/kg)
This small variety, grown inside tyres in a Whakatane garden, looks jewel-like with its black skin and purple heart streaked with white. Use them instead of more common types of potato - they're especially nice thinly sliced and pan-fried.
Take a box of fresh produce, and a chef's imagination
Chef Nancye Pirini relished the chance to cook with out-of-the-ordinary fresh produce.
Nancye Pirini was like a kid in a candy store when she was presented with two big boxes full of unusual vegetables from Art of Produce. Formerly the sous chef, or second in charge, at top restaurant dine by Peter Gordon at SkyCity, and now the executive chef at the Jet Park Hotel, Nancye enjoyed the opportunity to create a dish off the top of her head from scratch, using a selection of what we brought her. Here's what she came up with:
Rare venison on Jerusalem artichoke puree and jus, with cavolo nero cooked with oregano and chervil compound butter, topped with a salad of fennel, radish and snowpea feathers, with lemon and honeycomb dressing.
Method
Artichoke puree: Peel and chop artichokes and add to a pot with a little potato and salt and enough cream to cover. Simmer until soft when poked with a fork. Let it cool a little, then puree with a blender.
Salad: Slice fennel bulb and radishes very thinly (use a mandolin if you have one), going against the grain of the fennel. Top with the feathery leaves of the snowpea plant, and add dressing made by adding a little fresh honeycomb to lemon juice.
Cavolo nero: Strip the leaves from their stems, blanch the leaves in salted water for one minute, dunk into cold water to stop them cooking and to hold their colour, then drain in a sieve. Saute in a pan with a little oil, and add some butter previously mixed with oregano, chervil, chilli and zest of lemon (you can make a batch of this butter, shape it into a cylinder, wrap it in clingfilm and freeze it for future use with other dishes).
Venison: Brown each side then put in a hot oven for one minute. Take it out and let it rest. Just before serving, "flash heat" it in the oven for one more minute.
Jus: A fancy name for beef stock, dressed up as you like with red wine, herbs and garlic.
Plating
Smooth the artichoke on to the bottom of a warm plate, dab the cavolo nero with paper towels and lay on top, slice venison and lay on top of cavolo nero, place salad on top of venison, and pour jus around the outside of the artichoke puree. Serve immediately.
* Art of Produce, 36A Crummer Rd, Ponsonby, ph (09) 360 4450
