Most Australians love the taste of mangoes and eagerly await the summer when this fruit comes into season and they become affordable.  What many people don’t realise is, that although they are strictly a tropical fruit, the trees will grow further south and fruit, though not as heavily, as far down the coast as Sydney and Perth.  In fact, once established, trees will even cope with the occasional frost, though fruit set is dependent on temperatures staying warm enough during flowering in spring.

Kensington Pride is probably the most popular variety in the supermarket, however the home gardener should try other types, as these are susceptible to rot, and tend to grow too big (12m tall) whereas ‘Tommy Atkins’ and ‘Irwin’ and smaller cultivars.

Plant your mango tree in an open sunny place, protected from winds and cold.  Ensure the soil is well drained and add lots of organic matter to it to boost the water holding and nutrient storing capacity of your earth. The good news is that they are relatively quick to produce crops, and you should expect to see mangoes from grafted plants after only 3-4 years.  Watch out for fruit fly and scale insects, and anthracnose and black spot.

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Storage:

Mangoes can be picked under-ripe as they will continue to ripen at room temperature. Once ripe, the skin will have a yellow to reddish blush, will feel slightly soft when touched and the perfume will become more intense. When ripe, mangoes should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

What to do with glut

• Freeze

Cut mango cheeks from the stone and scoop flesh from skin. Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Use in smoothies, margaritas or cakes.

• Preserve

Mango ice cream

6 frozen mango halves
1/3 cup vanilla yoghurt
1 tbsp honey

Combine frozen mango, yoghurt and honey in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Scoop into cones to serve if using immediately or pour into an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

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Mango cheesecakes

150g butternut snap cookies
60g butter, melted
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup caster sugar
90g white chocolate, melted, cooled
½ cup cream, whipped
1 mango, halved, flesh thinly sliced

1 .Place biscuits in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Add butter and pulse to combine. Place 2 tbsp of crumbs into 6 large serving bowls or glasses. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Fold through chocolate and cream.
3. Divide between serving glasses. Top with mango slices. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 6

Tip
Prepare up to 4 hrs ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve.

try this …….
Frozen mango margarita
Place 4 frozen mango halves in a blender. Add ¾ cup margarita mix, ¼ cup tequila and 1 cup of ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

For many people the dream of having salad greens ready to pick is an everyday reality, and one of the easiest of all to grow is rocket, known botanically as Eruca sativa but also known commonly as Arugula and Italian Cress, as it is naturally from the Mediterranean.

This fast growing, nutty flavoured leaf has a little peppery overtone, making it a delicious addition to your salad.  To grow rocket, you can either so seeds direct into place or buy ready sprouted seedlings, but be careful not to over cover them; 2mm of earth is enough. Seed successive batches every 2 weeks so you have continual supply and feed regularly liquid fertiliser so they grow vigorously and are not bitter. They need at least 4 hours sun to develop full flavour, and will tolerate full sun.  In the heat of summer they are prone to bolting, or going to seed quickly themselves, but they readily self seed, ensuring that new rocket plants will quickly fill up any holes. If you don’t want this to happen, cut them back hard and they will reshoot with a fresh batch of edible leaves.

There is also another similar tasting plant called wild rocket, or Duplotaxis tenufolia, which has more deeply indented leaves and a more complex flavour.  Growing conditions and treatments are the same.

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Storage:

Rocket is best picked just before using, however if you do need to store rinse well and place in a plastic resealable bag. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.

What to do with glut

• Preserve

Rocket & pine nut pesto

Wash and dry 1 bunch of rocket. Place in a food processor with ¾ cup of grated parmesan, ¼ cup toasted pine nuts and 1 chopped garlic clove. Process until finely chopped. Season well, add ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil and process until smooth. Transfer to a sterilized jar, cover the surface with a little extra oil and seal. Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Use as a spread on bruschetta or as a sauce for pasta or gnocchi.

Makes 2 cups

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Rocket & olive salad with crisp haloumi

1 bunch rocket, ends trimmed, halved
250g grape tomatoes, halved
2 lebanese cucumbers, quartered, seeded, chopped
1 red capsicum, sliced
1 small red onion, halved, thinly sliced
½ cup pitted black olives
½ cup mint leaves, torn
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
180g haloumi, thickly sliced
1 tbsp plain flour

1. Place rocket, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, onion, olives and mint in a large bowl.
2. Mix together extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and sugar.
3. Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium. Dust haloumi slices in flour, shaking off excess. Cook haloumi, turning, for 2-3 mins, until golden all over.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve with haloumi.

Serves 4

Tip
Haloumi is best eaten immediately after being cooked, that way the outside remains crisp and the inside soft.

try this …….
Wilted rocket in balsamic with steak
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan on medium. Add 2 bunches rocket. Cook for 1-2 mins, until just wilted. Add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 1 min, until vinegar is syrupy. Serve alongside chargrilled beef.

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Peaches (Prunus persica) are one of the quintessential summer fruits, with the season running from late October right through to April, and a real glut coming onto the market around December/January, the perfect time for al fresco eating and light desserts. What many people don’t realise is just how easy peaches are to grow, or how beautiful they can be…

Peaches can be grown in many areas of Australia, as the variety available range from tropical selections that cope with the heat right through to cooler temperate varieties. They also can be bought in dwarf varieties, suitable for small gardens and pots, or espaliered to be able to grown along walls and in narrow spaces, or kept as a beautiful small tree. Another idea is to plant more than one type in the same whole, known as duo and trio planting, or grow multi grafted plants to allow for a few different types, and even other stone fruit, on the one plant. Known as fruit salad trees with these multigrafts it is possible nowadays to have the one tree bear a white fleshed peach, yellow fleshed peach and even a plum, all on the same bush!

Dwarf peaches are also available. Sold as Trxzie® grow about 1.5m x 1.5m. Their fruit is full sized, despite their diminutive statue! Over the last few decades there has been a lot of breeding going on in the peach world. Check out the newest cultivars from Flemings Nureseries (www.flemings.com.au ‘Daisy’, ‘Tasty Zee’ and Double Jewel.)

Peaches also have the added bonus of being self fertile, which means that they don’t need another variety to still be able to cross pollinate and set fruit, which can be a problem in the back yard situation for some other fruit tree.  The biggest problem you will face is likely to be the birds, who, just like you, love the juicy sweet flesh but will also eat them greener, ruining the crop.  Nets are essential for keeping them out of reach.  Peaches also get fruit fly in some areas of Australia, so you will need to be vigilant for this as the fruit ripens.

Peaches are normally planted in winter they can be purchased bare rooted and the range is widest and cheapest.  They can be bought year round though if potted, and many of the multigrafts and dwarf types will be available now.  They like a full sun position and are quite hardy, but don’t like being water logged so you will need to ensure that the soil drains will.  Dig a hole, fill it empty with water and check that it drains away completely in 10 minutes.  If it’s acting like a bucket, build
up your planting level to above the ground in either a mound or raised bed, to ensure drainage is adequate.

Peaches will take about 3 years before they bear reliably, and need particular training to keep the bearing.  To do this, each winter remove any branches that grow inwards, and shorten the remaining branches, all the time creating an open vase like shape, just like you do with rose bushes but on a much bigger scale.  Also watch that you remove suckers, or the shoots that appear below the bud union, as they appear as these can overbear your plant and have no guarantee of being a tasty fruit…they are just chosen for their disease resistance and vigour as an understock. Each winter, check your plant for scale insects and spray with a suitable copper spray at bud swell to stop the disease peach leaf curl attacking your plants.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS