grow | peas

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Peas (Pisum sativum) are perhaps the most commonly eaten green vegetable, but mostly from the frozen food section of your supermarket.  The shame of this is not only how delicious fresh peas are, but also because growing peas is one of the kindest things you can do for your garden’s soil.  And that doesn’t even touch on the socially enriching time that shelling peas together around the kitchen table can be!

Peas seem to celebrate spring.  They are fast growing, very pretty with either white or purple flowers, nutritious and can be eaten fresh or cooked in a wide range of cuisines from salads to stir fries or with the Sunday roast.  Even the new growth is edible and peas can even be sown on a windowsill for pea sprouts fresh year round.

Peas are normally sown in autumn or winter, but can be sown into early spring in cold areas like Tasmania and even into summer in areas where it doesn’t get too hot.  You plant they seeds directly where they grow every 5cm or so and then gently firm them down into the soil.  Dwarf peas don’t need any support so are ideal for pots and hanging baskets, but taller growing peas will generally need 1.5m tall stakes to help support them, and if possible run this north to south so they get the most sun possible.

Peas take about 8-10 weeks to start cropping, and the more you pick the more you get, so pick regularly.  At the end of your pea season, dig your pea stalks back into the ground and you’ll enrich your soil with not only organic matter, but also nitrogen, as peas have a magical way of using special nodules on their roots to take nitrogen from the air and turn it into a plant useable form.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | peas

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
When peas are ready for harvest the pods should be shiny and plump with the seam almost bulging. If purchasing peas, avoid pods that are dull or have yellowish speckles.
Peas deteriorate rapidly once picked, so use within 2-3 days of picking. Store in a clip-lock bag in the refrigerator.

What to do with glut

• Blanch & freeze

Blanch freshly shelled peas in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 3 mins. Drain and refresh under cold water. Transfer to clip-lock plastic bags and freeze for up to 2 months. Use as you would fresh peas.

Pea, almond & mint pesto

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small saucepan on medium. Cook 1 crushed garlic clove for 1 min, until fragrant. Add 1 ½ cups shelled peas and ¾ cup of chicken stock and simmer for 4-5 mins, until tender. Cool.
2. Place pea mixture, 1 1/2 cups of mint leaves, ¾ cup of grated parmesan and ¼ cup toasted slivered almonds in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Season well, add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and process until smooth. Transfer to sterilized jars, cover the surface with a little extra oil and seal. Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
3. Use as a spread on bruschetta or as a sauce for pasta or gnocchi.

Makes about 2 cups

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

community | Norton Plaza

By MEREDITH KIRTON

The rooftop of one one Sydney’s busiest shops, Norton Plaza in Leichhardt, has developed a kitchen garden on top of it’s retail centre and opened it up to the community.

This area, known for it’s Italian heritage, will be perfect for growing a wide range of Mediterranean herbs and potted trees such as olives.  The inside of the centre has even planted mini winter gardens throughout the plaza to demonstrate potted edibles and advertise the scheme.
At present they are looking for a garden guardian to help coordinate the scheme.

For more details go to http://www.nortonplaza.com.au/content.aspx?urlkey=CommunityKitchenGarden

or visit http://www.gpt.com.au/contentimages/microsites/sakgf/magic.aspx#.T1G1qf0_vvA.email

Photography by MEREDITH KIRTON |Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | leeks

By MEREDITH KIRTON

The onion family has many delicious members, but none more so than leeks the welsh emblem. Their sweet white stalk is the part favoured by cooks, and this is achieved by mounding earth up around their stems as they grow, hense blocking out the sunlight and “blanching” them.
Sow seeds in late summer ready for transplanting in early autumn. Whilst waiting for your seedlings to develop, choose a full sun, free draining position. They do like a rich, organic soil so dig in manure or compost and mulch well. Replant these seedlings into a trench and backfill, so beginning the blanching process. Every few weeks as the leeks grow, mound more earth around their stems. After 4-5 months your leeks will be ready to start harvesting.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | leeks

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Once picked leeks should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

What to do with glut

• Freeze

Buttery leeks

50g butter
3 leeks, washed, trimmed, thickly sliced

Melt butter in a large frying pan on medium heat, until foaming. Add leeks and cook covered, for 5-8 mins or until leeks have softened.
Transfer to an airtight container and pour over pan juices. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw before using in soups, casseroles and as an accompaniment to veal, fish or lobster. Stir through scrambled egg or pasta.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | broadbeans

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Broad Beans (Vicia faba), are one of the most useful winter vegetables, especially in frosty areas as they as very cold tolerant. Sown directly in rills in the soil 20cm apart, they grow between 60cm and a 1m depending on the variety over a 20 week period and are heavy yielding hardy.  They don’t need staking as such, but a frame on stake cage will give them the support they need, and wind breaks will also help as they can be easily
snapped in two.

Broad beans need a well draining soil, but will produce their own nitrogen, so addding nitrogen based fertiliser is unnecessary.  In fact, at the end of the season you can dig the plants back into the soil as they are a rich green manure and will help build up the soil in your patch.

There are a few types with pods available with either white or green seeds, and Windsors, which have round pods, are sweeter again, white or green.  There is also a red flowered broad bean called ‘Crimson’ which still produces beans.  The tender young pods are best, and older beans may
need to be double shelled (second time after blanching in boiling water) to be palatable.  New shoots also are edible and have a delicate broad bean flavour perfect for tossing through pasta, adding to salads or garnishing.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | broadbeans

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Once picked, place whole broad beans in a paper bag and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Compared to the weight of the whole bean the yield is quite small. Once podded, 200g of whole beans will give approximately 80g.

What to do with glut

• Freeze

Podded broad beans freeze very well. Place in an airtight container or plastic bag and freeze until ready to use. Cook beans straight from the freezer in a large pan of boiling water. Drain and peel outer skin from bean to reveal a bright green, tender inner.

• To dry
  

Leave the whole beans on the vine until shell is brown and dry. Pick beans and remove pod, the beans should be brown-green colour and smaller in size than freshly podded broad beans. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To use, soak in water overnight before boiling in salted water until tender.

• To preserve

Broad bean puree

1.2kg whole broad beans or 500g shelled
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground coriander
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook shelled beans in a pan of boiling salted water for 10 mins, until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Peel beans, discard skins.
2. Place beans, garlic, cumin, coriander and ½ cup of reserved liquid in a food processor. Process until smooth, adding more liquid if needed. Fill sterilized jars and refrigerate for up to 1 week or place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.

Use as a dip topped with sumac and served with pita crisps. Spread onto bruschetta, top with a little grated parmesan and gill until golden. Stir through hot pasta and serve with shaved parmesan.

Makes 2 cups

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS