I know that officially it’s still August – just – but Spring has unofficially sprung here on the Sunshine Coast. The fruit and veggies that had been missing from the markets over the winter are now beginning to reappear, and we’re eating way too much of the Gympie cheese man’s fabulous butter and fresh goats curd – not to mention Maleny Cheese’s unsweetened yoghurt…yum!
Avocados are super cheap at the moment – 7 for $5 at the markets last week. Berries are still very affordable, and the huge bags of leaves that we buy for the princely sum of $3 seem to be never ending – and last so much longer than leaves from the supermarket ever did.
So what to do with this produce?
Our Saturday lunches have of late been a platter of freshly baked baguettes from La Rilettes, butter and cheese from Gympie cheese, tomatoes from Noosa Reds, and locally produced salami. All local, all fresh, all bought from the market. It makes us feel as if we’re French or something.
We managed to get some sashimi grade (local) tuna from the fisheries for dinner on Saturday night and prepared it as an entrée in a raw tuna salad of sorts. Everything in it – other than the crème fraiche and the sesame oil – was sourced at the markets on Saturday morning.
To start with I juiced a knob of ginger. We don’t have a juicer, so essentially this meant grating it and straining the juice out. Yes, I know this means some faffing around, but trust me – it’s worth it. I mixed this through a couple of tablespoons of crème fraiche and set it aside.
For the salad I diced a couple of small tomatoes, and a small avocado. To this I added a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped shallot, about the same of chopped spring onions, a birds eye chilli (we left the seeds in) – also finely chopped – and another smallish knob of grated ginger. Stir through 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, the juice of half a lime, and a pinch of salt. At the last minute, stir through finely diced tuna. I reckon we had about 150g between us as an entrée, but I’m pretty crap at this whole measuring thing. We served it in a pile on the plate – hello, I’m no food stylist – with coriander leaves and the gingery crème fraiche drizzled over the top.
Another more fancy pants way of serving this salad is in little Chinese spoons as canapés. Does anyone actually do canapés these days?
If you prefer your tuna cooked, sear it, but only just – it should still rare in the centre – and slice it thinly. You can then serve this salad as a sort of a salsa on the side. Still drizzle over the gingery dressing and maybe top with some roasted black sesame seeds.
And there you have it – the same ingredients, but served three different ways.
What about you? What’s your favourite market?
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And Anyways... 
Mouth watering deliciousness right there!
Absolutely!
We have a number of Farmers Markets so each week we visit one. Those tomatoes, yum!
It’s such a great way to shop & eat. We have our faves, but like to spread the love around the local markets too…so to speak.
That market looks divine. Esp the fresh baked french pastires!
Hubby loves those pastries too. I’ve tried the croissants &…yum!
That photo of the tomatoes just had me wanting to reach in, grab one and bite into it! They look super sweet and juicy!
Ingrid
http://www.fabulousandfunlife.blogspot.com.au
Oh, they are!
I love the look of those Saturday lunches. I’m not a huge antipasto freak – I know some people who could live on cheese, olives etc… (give me chocolate / corn chips any day!) but do enjoy nice (not too stinky) cheese and salami etc…
As for tuna, I’m not a fan of the oily small stuff (tuna or salmon) but have had some deep sea variation which was kinda white and not as scary. (And yes, I am every foodie’s nightmare!)
You most certainly are every foodie’s nightmare, lol!
Food, glorious food!! It really doesn’t matter how you serve it up—it’s a fabulous part of life!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
It sure is…although I sometimes wish (for the sake of my tummy) that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I do.
“C’mon get happy!!” No you are not the only old sad case. I remember it well and I watched religiously purely to get an eye full of Keith (aka David Cassidy) – swooooon!! We live in an a wonderful part of the world to have such gorgeous food at our fingertips. I’m lucky to have local markets that have beautiful fresh food available too. Love it! 🙂 #TeamLovinLife
I’m seriously now a #queenslander
Love farmers markets, and always buy too much that we can’t eat quickly enough! Your Saturday lunches would be similar to ours – love a graze 🙂
All I can say is thank goodness the produce has a longer shelf life than when you buy it at supermarkets.
I love a good grazing platter! And that butter and cheese looks so fresh.
Super duper fresh
STOP! I’m salivating … so jealous of the avocadoes – down here in South OZ we’ve still got winter big time, even though it’s meant to be spring tomorrow. Adelaide has an amazing Central Market – whenever I go, I always end up buying more than I can comfortably carry. But not more than I can comfortably eat, haha!
I love Central Markets – it’s such a fabulous spot – so much produce
I visit different local farmers’ markets, too, Jo, and also love weekend lunches with baguette, fresh deli, cheese, and fruit #TeamLovinLife
Just how great is it eating like that?
We have a really good fruit and vegie market near where we live, but I do love visiting markets when we travel and seeing the food the locals eat. Happy travels, have a wonderful weekend and thank you for stopping by my blog this week.
There’s not much better than visiting local markets when travelling.
Lucky I’ve just eaten because that platter looks delicious! I go to the Farmer’s Markets every Saturday morning to stock up on fresh produce for the week. It is far tastier and lasts longer than the Supermarket stuff. I will have to try that Tuna Salad recipe – it looks and sounds yum.
Loving the look of that lunch platter
#teamlovinlife