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Published Weekly
June 22nd 2009
Dish of the WeekHot or Not - Weekly Review
 

THIS WEEK : I could talk to you about my recent holiday which coincided with my birthday, but I won’t burden you with details. Instead I shall mention, a much more exciting event, the arrival of new crop English Cherries from Kent which Alex-the-Buyer rates very highly. We’ve received an initial batch of 50kg at a very reasonable price, but if demand is high we will be able to replenish our stocks to meet it without any problems.

Regular Peaches have been pretty good recently and continue to improve. I spoke a couple of weeks’ back of how Flat Peaches (last week’s Fruit Of The Week) differed from their more traditional counterparts insomuch that the flavour of Flat Peaches was smoother, more rounded and contained no tartness. Having sampled a few of our current stock of regular peaches I have reached the conclusion that their flavour is more complex and more satisfying - sherbet intensity combined with a mellow sweetness that I find rather appealing. The Nectarines we have in our warehouse at the moment are at their peak and taste ravishing. Apricots are a decent size and pretty good in every other department too - sweet, moist and with a deep sunset blush similar in colour to a nectarine in full bloom.

Watermelons are still really good, and have grown in stature whilst shrinking in price over previous weeks. On the other hand, Spanish Galia Melons are somewhat small - although their quality is still excellent, as is their price due to a surplus in supply. Alex-the-Buyer says this is because the Almeria region of Spain which is supplying our current stocks is approaching the end of its season. Size will begin to improve, however, once supplies start to come in from other regions. Also worth mentioning are English Gooseberries - the fruit equivalent of Marmite. I personally have a real fondness for these hairy little creatures. Perhaps more palatable to many peoples’ taste buds are Dutch Red Gooseberries, which tend to be somewhat sweeter and less astringent.


The end of the current Italian Radicchio crop heralds the start of new season English Radicchio, which are fresh, firm and succulent.

New season English Courgettes from Lincolnshire are just in. Early batches will initially be un-graded and therefore vary in size. Subsequent batches due in about a week’s time will be of a more consistent size. Another new season arrival is English Romanesco, which Alex-the-Buyer reckons is attractive enough to take out on a date and introduce to your friends. English Broccoli is still excellent and plentiful supplies mean the price is right if you’re looking for a good bulk veg to feed your ravenous hoards. The same can also be said for high-yielding English Primo Cabbage.

PRODUCT ALERT: Alex-the-Buyer and Paul-the-Production-Manager couldn’t think of anything of any real significance. There is a slight possibility of a rise in the price of Cucumbers, but this is far from certain.

4°C FieldFresh

This week’s selection includes produce from three Essex growers: dome-headed Primo Cabbage from Bexley; environmentally-friendly Wild Roquette from Boxted and from Brentwood vibrantly coloured Rainbow Chard. Finally we have LEAF Marque Red Peppers from Tangmere  in Sussex.

Ask your order taker for more information.

Product

Dist

Price

Beans, Broad

89

££

Beetroot, New

56

££

Cabbage, Savoy

88

££

Celery

109

£

Courgettes Baby

138

££

Cress, Rufina

222

££

Fennel, Baby

54

£££

Pak Choi

104

££

Peas

173

££

Pots, Early New

63

£

Primo Cabbage

27

££

Rainbow Chard

19

££

Red Peppers

53

£

Scallions

26

££

Spinach Prepack

108

££

Tomatoes, Mixed

95

££

Watercress

63

££

Wild Roquette

52

££

Distances are given as miles from the farm gate to London Bridge

 
 

Seared Mackerel with Fresh Minted Crushed Garden Peas

(Serves 2)

Preparing the Peas:  Pod 250g fresh English garden peas and lightly crush them in a food processor by pressing the pulse button a couple of times. Stir in 1tbs extra virgin olive oil, 2tbs chopped fresh mint, 1tsp chopped fresh tarragon, and the juice and zest of one lime. Season with freshly cracked black pepper, coarse sea salt, a pinch of sumac and a pinch of ground cumin. Let the peas macerate whilst preparing the mackerel.

Preparing the Mackerel: clean, de-scale and fillet one large mackerel, taking care to remove the pin bones. Cut the mackerel into 5 -7cm long diamond shapes (work on the basis of 2 pieces per portion) and score the skins. Season with the zest of an un-waxed lemon, freshly cracked black pepper and course sea salt. Sear the mackerel skin-side-down in a pre-heated non-stick pan for 3-4 minutes until the skin crispens, then turn over and cook for a further 1 minute. Remove from pan and drain on kitchen paper.

On each plate make two small quenelles of the freshly crushed peas and place one piece of seared mackerel on top of the each. Garnish with pea tops and a drizzle of freshly made mint vinaigrette.

Recipe by Madalene Bonvini-Hamel. Visit www.britishlarder.co.uk for seasonal inspiration.

 

 

 

Fruit of the Week

For Point Of Sale info on this week’s Fruit of the Week,

Flat Peaches

contact   

carmel@4degreesc.com

 

 

 FRUIT  VEGETABLES  SALADS

Price

Product

Qual

Price

Product

Qual

Price

Product

Qual

££

APPLES

3

££

ARTICHOKES

4

££

AVOCADOS

3

££

BANANAS

3

£££

ASPARAGUS

4

££

CELERY

5

££

CLEMS & SATS

3

££

AUBERGINES

5

££

CHICORY

4

££

FIGS FRESH

3

££

BEAN X FINE

3

££

CORN SALAD

3

££

GRAPEFRUIT

3

£

BROCCOLI

5

££

CUCUMBER

3

££

GRAPES/SLESS

3

££

CAB SAV/GRN

4

££

FRISEE

4

£

KIWIFRUIT

3

££

CAB WHITE

3

£

LETTUCE COS

4

££

LEMONS

3

££

CARROTS

4

£

LETTUCE ICEB’G

4

£

LIMES

3

££

CAULIS

3

££

LETTUCE RND

3

£££

LYCHEES

2

££

COURGETTES

4

£

LOLLO ROSSO

3

££

MANGOES

5

££

LEEKS

4

£

OAKLEAF

3

££

MELONS HDEW

3

£££

MANGE TOUT

3

£

PARSLEY

5

£

MELONS GALIA

3

££

MUSHROOMS

4

££

PEPPERS

4

££

NECTARINES

3

££

ONIONS

3

££

RADICCHIO

3

££

ORANGES

3

£££

PARSNIPS

3

££

RADISHES

4

££

PEACHES

5

££

POTATO JKTS

2

££

ROQUETTE

4

££

PEARS

4

££

POTATO MIDS

4

££

SPRING ONIONS

4

££

PINEAPPLES

4

£

SPINACH

4

££

TOMATOES

3

££

PLUMS

3

££

SWEDES

2

£

TOMS CHERRY

3

££

STRAWBERRIES

5

££

TURNIPS

5

££

WATERCRESS

3

 

SHORTAGES/QUALITY ISSUES MUST BE REPORTED BY 9:00AM