ABC_Organic_Gardener_-_November_2019

organicgardener.com.au^69

Baaco

Although

babaco is

in the same

family as

pawpaw,

it is much more cold-tolerant. The

lush five-sided, torpedo-shaped fruit

are seedless, and are produced on

the trunk of the small tree. They

can be harvested green, and used in

curries and preserves. Alternatively

wait until patches of yellow appear

and cut the fruit off leaving a small

stem. Babaco will continue to ripen

off the tree, or you can leave them

on until fully yellow. The white

fleshandtenderskinareboth

edible and fruit store on the shelf

for up to a month. Use the tangy

strawberry/pineapple flavoured fruit

to eat fresh, or made into smoothies,

fruit salads or other desserts.

L

I plant my leeks at half their

suggested distance apart and

harvest every second one while

still slim and tender, chopping the

whole plant for use. Leave the rest

to harvest at maturity when the

stem bases are pale yellow/white.

I also use older grey/green leaves

in soups for their onion/leek flavour,

leaving them whole and removing

before serving. Today leek cultivars

are bred so their bases stay pale,

but the flesh will be more tender

if the bottom third is wrapped with

cardboard during growth to exclude

light. Harvest the whole plant,

rinse carefully under running water

toremovedirt,slice,fry,bakeor

steamandaddtoeverythingfrom

soups,stews,stirfries,pie

fillingsandmore.Orjust

eatwithacheesysauce.

PennyWoodward

HARVEST NOTES

in season

H

AVOCADO

BABACO

BLUEBERRY

FIG

LEMON

MULBERRY

ORANGE

PAWPAW

STRAWBERRY

Fruit

As organic foodanddrinkbecomes more and

more popular with Australian consumers, the

range of certified imported products available

here continues to grow. I’m recommending two

imported organic wines to go with this month’s

recipes: a deliciously fresh, dry German riesling

with the sweet and salty fritters, and a full-

flavoured Argentine malbec to match the gutsy

flavours of the beef tacos – an appropriately

South American food-and-wine combination.

2017 Frey Riesling, Rheinhessen ($29)

Outstanding example of dry riesling

from an organic winegrower in one

of Germany’s finest regions. Beautiful

fragrant grapey aromatics, juicy

andcitrusy,withamoreish,thirst-

quenchingquality.

Imported by traversewines.com

BYMAXALLEN

WIN

E PICKS

ASIANGREENS

ASPARAGUS

BROAD BEANS

GREEN GARLIC

LEEK

LETTUCE

MUSTARDLEAVES

ONION

PARSNIP

PEA

POTATO

RAINBOW CHARD

CORIANDER

DILL

FRENCH TARRAGON

PARSLEY

ROSEMARY

SAGE

SAVOURY

Vegta 

ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCK

2018 Santa Julia Organic Malbec,

Mendoza ($15)

Not only a great-value organic red, but

also a very good example of malbec,

Argentina’s most famous red grape.

Dark-red,squishyfruitflavoursand

fine,tongue-hugging,savourytannins.

Available at most large wine sellers