Have you had a gander in the Friday markets yet? There is so much deliciousness on Stewart Street between 4-7pm every Friday. For the next couple of months I will share some of our home-kitchen experiments with the produce. The aim of these recipes is to provide inspo for meals, treats and accompaniments that are extremely local to Raglan (ideally grown and produced within 100km).
The Taunga Kereru family stall has become one of our family favourites and my son is drawn to the daikon and turnips there every week. Liz Stanway is the ‘old girl’ and orchestrator of the gardens and her son Zak and girlfriend Emily have been selling at the stall over these recent beautiful Friday nights. I’m not sure why my son is drawn to the turnips with such vivacity; perhaps he is living some sort of anime fantasy reality and the radishes turn into flying castles?! Regardless, it has taken me to dizzy-new-turnip-heights in the kitchen.
Turnips have featured on the dinner table now in many forms – I have roasted some with other local veggies to make big hearty dinner salads. I stuffed a chicken with a turnip, lemon and herbs; that was good! Today I am sharing a simple quick pickle that you can whack on the side of any meal at this time of year. Would go well with enchilada, or fried fish, perhaps just eating it while drinking a cold glass of white wine… enjoy.
A very quick Raglan pickle
4 small turnips from the Taunga Kereru family stall – wash, peel and slice finely, keep them raw.
The juice of half a lemon (often available at the local pantry)
½ cup apple cider vinegar (Daily Organics Matakana is exceptional)
Large pinch of garden herbs – top a few herbs and snip finely with scissors – such as coriander, thyme and a horseradish leaf
Some spring onion tops bring zing
And if you can get a large laden teaspoon of local honey in there then go for it!
You can tumble these gems in a large glass jar or bowl and serve immediately or stash in the fridge for an hour two to make cold and crunchy.
