In high summer I get really excited about all the fresh salad and vegetables available. It’s the time when you really discover that fresh is always best. I call it the ‘easy season’ when you can spend less time actually cooking.
With so much to choose from it’s hard to find any thing more versatile than the humble beetroot. It has had a bit of an image problem and according to research, is the vegetable least recognised by children aged 8 to 12 years old. Now, thanks to a good dose of celebrity chef treatment, it is experiencing a well deserved revival. You can’t beat freshly cooked beetroot and its sweet, slightly nutty flavour. I recommend you buy these wonderful purple-pink roots as fresh as you can and make sure they still have their stalks and fresh green leaves on to stop the red juices bleeding into the cooking.
This incredibly useful versatile vegetable can be served in a huge variety of ways hot or cold. Baked in foil will preserve all the flavour and diced into salads, it will show off that wonderful colour. Worth remembering that the beetroot is a rich source of vitamins and minerals particularly iron. If you breakfast off it juiced with apples and carrots, it makes a great revitalising health drink.
July is also a bountiful time for all sorts of berries: strawberries, gooseberries, blueberries and raspberries so, make the most of this wonderful time, go alfresco and savour every summer moment.
Sally Bendall co-owns Hollow Trees Farm Shop as well as finding time to chair FARMA, the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association.
Hollow Tree Farm Shop, A1141 Semer, Suffolk IP7 6HX
T: 01449 741247 W: hollowtrees.co.uk
