The pantry had been a little bare of late so it was great to get to the markets on Saturday and stock up. It was a glorious day. After the recent rain it was nice to see some sun and the crowds were certainly out enjoying it.
So what did I buy?
The very first of the new season’s garlic. I love this. The bulbs are small and compact and there is no need to peel them, just remove the outer skin and then chop the little, perfectly white cloves.
Perfect new season garlic
Fennel – lots of fennel. At the end of the market, one of the stall holders was giving away her left over fennel. After a bumper crop, she really didn’t want to take the remainder home. So after having already bought a couple of bulbs, I ended up with a dozen more. We eat quite a lot of fennel but trying to use that much was a bit daunting, so I managed to give quite a few bulbs away. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds. Nearly everyone I approached had never cooked it and didn’t know what to do with it. Fennel is really versatile, you can bake it, make a gratin with it, finely shred it as part of a salad, or make it into a soup, which is what I have done with a couple of bulbs.
My market purchases – fabulous seasonal produce
Apples – Pink Lady, Granny Smiths, Lady Williams and Fuji’s. Different apples for different uses. The Granny Smiths I generally cook with and a couple have already made in into the fennel soup. Pink Lady’s I also cook with a bit but they are a really good eating apple. The Lady Williams, I hadn’t tried before. An old variety, they are the genetic base for a number of the newer varieties. A red, crisp and slightly tart apple they are really delicious.
Add to that some strawberries, purple carrots, beetroot, cauliflower, ruby sweet potato and onions I think I’m set for a couple of weeks.
julia's pantry 