August Fruit and Vegetables

August is the month to make the most of the last lazy days of summer and its abundance of fresh produce. The crops may be changing, but the picture for this month closely resembles that of the last, July. This is the month to gladden the hearts of vegetable lovers. Good English strawberries are now on their way out and asparagus and Jersey Royals are mostly finished, but other potatoes like Maris Piper, which are great for summer salads, are particularly good this month.

As for greens, there is so much to get excited about in August that it’s hard to know where to start. Sweetcorn, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, salad leaves, and courgettes – these are all continuing to thrive under the summer sun. This is also the peak time for UK herbs, which will be popping up in domestic gardens and on commercial farms; get maximum mileage out of these summer luxuries while they last.

Other new vegetable arrivals will be aubergines and peppers, which are grown outdoors in the hot weather of southern France and Italy. Take advantage of these sunshine fruits now and through to September with ratatouille, relishes, and salsas or add them to the barbecue with courgettes to make a seasonal summer vegetable platter.

Another true August star is runner beans, always at their best if picked young before they have had a chance to develop the powerful string and skins that make preparation and eating a bit of a chore. Slicing and buttering them with buttery hazel or cob nuts is an unusual way to serve them. If you can only find the larger beans, de-stringing, slicing, and long cooking are more or less essential, or you could use mangetout, which should also be at their best this month, which make an easier replacement.

Don’t forget the new crops of cauliflower, beetroot, carrots and leeks, all of which should be at their youngest and most tender. This is the prime time to eat cauliflower and carrots raw, as crudités with dips or vinaigrettes, and also the best time to put up a store of achar or piccalilli for the year ahead.

Vegetable soups are also an area to explore in the month of August. Be adventurous with ‘Tomato and Red Pepper Soup’ or a delectable Magic Vegetable Soup’.

Another vegetable to pounce on when you see them are the best of the summer’s globe artichokes from France and Italy. They should start arriving early in the month. Globe artichokes, the flower head of a member of the thistle family, are among the strangest of all vegetables. Something like 80% of each flower is inedible, but these are also one of the most luxurious of vegetables, which are at their height in high summer. There are two types available: small ones from Italy and large ones from Brittany in France. Care is needed in buying: there should be no sign of browning or shrivelling, and the tips of the leaves should feel soft rather than sharp and spiny. Go for specimens with tightly packed, crisp green or purple leaves with a slight bloom. Fresh ones should feel heavy for their size, and the leaves should 'squeak' when the bud is gently squeezed. Artichokes hold a lot of grit, which is best removed by soaking and then giving a vigorous shaking in the water.

When cooking artichokes, iron, copper and aluminium cookware may cause artichokes to discolour; stainless steel, glass or enamel is the better cookware to use.

To prepare whole, cut the tough tips of the leaves off with scissors, holding the stalk to keep the artichoke steady. Using a knife, slice the base off, so that it will sit upright, before trimming off the pointed top - the younger the artichoke, the less you'll need to cut off. Pull the pale centre leaves out, then scoop the choke out with a spoon, without disturbing the heart underneath.
To prevent browning, drop each one in a bowl of water to which a little lemon juice has been added. Cook them in a pan of boiling salted water for 35-45 minutes - when they're ready you should easily be able to pull out a leaf. Drain upside down.

To prepare artichokes for storing, steam or boil them as described above, then bottle them in olive oil. These are great as part of an Italian anti pasti, for putting on pizza or serving with salads.

Artichokes can also be barbecued or grilled: cut in half lengthways, remove the choke, brush with olive oil and grill for 30 minutes, until tender.

For fruit, most summer berries are available and it’s definitely time to get out your jam making equipment, if you haven’t already. August is the start of the blackberry season. With the help of this wonderful dark berry you’ll be able to make summer puddings of distinction or make the most marvellous jams. Good English cherries are also in abundance now, as well as blackcurrants and blueberries. Peaches, apricots and nectarines are at their best now and the same goes for melons, which are never better than they are at this time of the year.

Apple Butter

Making apple butter is a great way to use up the glut of apples at harvest time. Although that is not for a few months yet, I'm including the recipe here as it goes so well with Homemade Sausages. As the name suggests there is butter in this preserve, need ti dispel the myth; 'butter' is a bit of a misnomer. The name comes from its smooth and buttery texture. It is delicious served with pork of any kind as well as with bacon or just served on toast at breakfast.

Ingredients:
2kg Granny Smith apples
250ml apple cider vinegar
500ml water
about 1000ml sugar
Salt
10ml ground cinnamon
2ml ground cloves
2ml allspice or ground pimento
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Method:
Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them. Much of the pectin in in the cores, seeds and peels. Cut out any damaged parts of the apples.

Put the apples into a large pot, add the vinegar and water, over, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until the apples are soft. Remove from the heat.

Ladle the apple mixture into a conical sieve (or food mill) and force the pulp through the sieve with the back of a spoon into a bowl. Measure the resulting purée. Add 125g sugar for each 250ml of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add a dash of salt, the cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice and blend through the apple mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Transfer the apple mixture to a large, wide, heavy-based nonstick saucepan and cook on a low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to ensure a crust does not form on the bottom of the pot. If your pot is nonstick, it shouldn't form a crust, but just to be sure, constantly clear the base of the pot. Cook for 1-2 hours until thick and smooth. To test when it is ready spoon a small amount onto a chilled plate - it should be thick, not runny.

Pour into hot, sterilised jars and seal. This makes a little more than three jam jars. Store in the larder until opened, then store in the fridge.

Farmhouse Beans

This is a traditional Afrikaans way of preparing green beans, also known as "Boere Boontjies". I learnt to make this behind my Ouma's apron. As children, it was a treat and I still enjoy beans prepared this way.

Although suet is the genuine fat used by the 'Boere Vrou', it is not considered as a suitable fat to use today as it is saturated fat. You could replace it with butter or olive oil, or a bit of both.

Ingredients:
1 small potato, peeled and chopped into quarter inch cubes - or coarsely grated
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 packet of green beans, topped and tailed and chopped into 1 inch pieces - smaller if you wish
30g suet for frying - or butter and/or olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to season

Method:
In a frying pan, melt the suet and add the potatoes, frying for a few minutes until the potato becomes a little translucent. Add the shallot and beans and fry for about 5 minutes until the onion is a little coloured and the beans are cooked, but still crunchy. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper a keep warm until ready to serve.

Double Mash

This is a mash potato made with potatoes and sweet potatoes mixed. It is much more flavoursome than ordinary mash and is more beneficial nutritionally.

Ingredients:
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
30-50ml milk
20-30g butter
salt and white pepper to season

Method:
Boil the potato and sweet potato together in salted water until the potatoes are tender. Mash them with a potato masher, adding milk and butter to soften the mixture, until the mash is soft smooth and creamy. season with salt and ground white pepper to taste.

Homemade Pork Sausages

'Bangers and Mash' is traditional British comfort food, but coming from South Africa, we have a different take on this family meal. These homemade sausages are ever so tasty and perfectly easy to make. Even better than the traditional pork sausage, they have no casings and can have the herbs and seasonings of your choice added to them. Instead of serving them with plain mash potato, we like to have 'Double Mash', 'Farmhouse Beans' (Boere Boontjies), and Apple Butter.

Ingredients:
450g fatty minced pork
breadcrumbs made from 2 slices of white bread - or 50/50
1 egg, whisked
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped
30ml fresh coriander leaves, chopped
celery salt and ground black pepper for seasoning
2-5ml chilli flakes, to taste
15-30ml soy sauce to taste
50ml olive oil for frying

Method:
Mix together all the ingredients, except the olive oil, seasoning well with celery salt, ground black pepper and as much chilli flakes as you enjoy. Fry a tiny bit of the mixture in a pan with a dash of olive oil to test the seasoning, adjusting to taste. Divide the mixture into 8-12 pieces and shape each into a sausage. Place on a baking tray or plate and set aside until ready to cook them. Chilling them for a couple of hours in the fridge helps to firm them up.

To cook the sausages, heat a frying pan on a low to medium heat. Add 50ml olive oil and gently fry the sausages for 12-15 minutes, until golden on all sides and cooked on all sides.

Serve with Double Mash, Farmhouse Beans and Apple Butter.

Herby Summer Salad

Salads are always popular for summer eating, with a braai or barbecue, or just for a light lunch or accompaniment to an evening meal. This delightful lemon dressed herby salad only takes minutes to make and has fragrance from the herbs, sharpness from the lemon and saltiness from the bacon. All in all, it's a nicely rounded salad and the dressing can be used for many other salads as well as this one.

Ingredients:
For the Salad:
8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely sliced
olive oil
A small bunch each of tarragon, basil, flat-leaf parsley, coriander and dill, leaves picked
a punnet of baby cress
60-70g rocket
Parmesan cheese shavings, for garnish

For the Dressing:
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
45-50ml lemon juice
100ml olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:
Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a little salt and pepper, then shake to combine. Taste and add more seasoning or lemon juice if required.

Fry the bacon in a drizzle of olive oil till crisp. Drain on a piece of kitchen paper, then place in a bowl with the herbs, cress and rocket. give the dressing a shake, then drizzle over enough to coat the leaves; toss with your hands. Sprinkle with Parmesan shavings and your salad is ready to serve.

Braai Grilled Onions

These savoury onions are great to grill during the last 15 minutes while cooking your meat. They go well with almost all cuts of meat.

Ingredients:

4 medium onions, topped and tailed and skins removed

30ml Worcestershire sauce

30ml balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

30ml soy sauce

30ml olive oil

1-2ml dried tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut each onion in half lengthwise and place the halves in a shallow, flat container. Beat the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, tarragon and oil together and pour this mixture over the onions. Allow them to marinade at room temperature for about 1 hour, basting occasionally.

To cook, arrange the onions around the edges of the grid. Cook until the onions are tender and brown, basting occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. These cook best on a covered grill, but may also be done on an open fire. Once done, remove the onions to a serving dish and season with salt and pepper.