Top chefs will tell you that the secret to great cooking is great ingredients. Your first thoughts should be about what’s going to give you the richest and best quality flavours. Choose recipes to complement the best ingredients available to you at any given point in time.
What's in Season for May
May represents autumn's departure signifying the lead up towards winter, and seasonal recipes this time of year are designed to be uplifting. We've also come to associate this month with Mother's Day, falling ritualistically on the second Sunday of May.
Full of maternal spirit, we were given the opportunity to speak with one of Australia's foremothers of cookery writing, Stephanie Alexander, an author who expresses her garden and kitchen knowledge with prose that welcomes readers with open arms.
What's In Season for May
Also busy in the writing scene, thirty-something Tobie Puttock recently re-released "Italian Local", with an emphasis on traceability. His providore tales include travel experiences that revolve around mushroom foraging, something to keep in mind as there are multiple varieties out there and truffle season is right around the corner. When it comes to mushrooms, get to know your market providores because it's important that you're sourcing wild mushrooms and other unique varieties of fungus from knowledgeable sources. Keep in mind that porcini mushrooms, treasured in Italy, are similar to truffles but with a woodsier whiff.
Mushrooms are renowned for their deep earthy aroma and we have gathered a nice pork neck main with pine mushrooms from Brent Savage of Bentley fame for you to try. Or perhaps you'd like to spice things up with another seasonal main option, yellow cauliflower with garlic and spicy chicken. Beyond the savoury, thinking sweet with Mum in mind, we consulted Annette Sym who suggests baking a nice raspberry, oat and white chocolate loaf, perfect for tea or dessert.
Fruits in Season
Apples – Pink Lady, Dels & Grannys; Avocadoes – new season Hass & late season Shepards; Bananas, Berries – Strawberries good quality though high in price & Blueberries/Raspberries trending up; Custard Apples – in full swing; Figs, Grapes – red & black is the go; Grapefruit – Marsh & Ruby; Kiwifruit – gold will be rarity though; Lemons, Limes, and Nuts – almond, chestnut, hazelnut, peanut, pecan, pistachio & walnut. Oranges – Mandarins have a superb flavour at the moment & look for Navels & Navelinas; Paw Paws, Pears – Packham, Buerre Bosc & Corella; Stonefruit – you may find giant plums; Tamarillo and Tomatoes – Queensland abundance.
Vegetables in Season
Beans – Borlotti, butter, green & snake; Broccoli, Broccolini, Brussels Spouts, Carrots, Cauliflower, Lettuces, Mushrooms - chanterelles, chestnuts, enokis, field, morels, oysters, pine, Slippery Jack are back, truffles & wild; Okra, Onions – brown, red & spring; Parsnip, Peas, Potato, Pumpkin, Radish, Silverbeet, Spinach, Squash, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potato, Turnip, Watercress and Zucchini.