What to eat in summer: 10 healthy seasonal products
Before the start of each season we publish a list of fresh products that are worth paying attention to. Despite the fact that it is always possible to find fresh, maximally healthy and rich in taste products, the richest season for fruits and vegetables is summer. It is in the summer in the markets and shops that a real cornucopia full of strawberries, grapes and tomatoes awaits us. We understand what to pay special attention in the period from June to August.
better immediately more. What for? First, to make a salad with avocado and mustard sauce, which the handsome man Anthony from the show "Queer Eye" taught us to cook. Secondly, to squeeze the juice out of them and create cocktails, such as spicy and smoked "Paloma" with grapefruit juice. And finally, to bake the world's most beautiful shifter cake with grapefruit and red oranges.
Apricots
This year, because of the abnormal spring heat, the apricot trees bloomed early, so we have every chance of seeing their fruits on the shelves pretty soon. Apricots are relatively unpretentious to weather conditions, and fresh fruit of local origin can be found in most parts of mainland Europe. Different apricot varieties have different harvest periods, so fresh fruits appear on the markets from the beginning of June until almost the very end of August; You can safely buy them throughout the summer.
When fresh apricots are bored, you can do the preparations - make apricot-ginger jam or insist apricot liqueur, which will lift your mood in a dreary autumn (just do not overdo it!).
Mulberry
Before you decide to buy a package of fresh mulberry, we strongly recommend purchasing a box of surgical gloves - mulberry juice irreversibly colors any counter surface in a rich purple color. As soon as you cover yourself, the kitchen and all the dishes with washable plastic (just do not throw it away, but use it repeatedly), you can start eating or cooking mulberry - any option will make life fun, tasty and bright (and similar to the effects of berry slaughterhouse).
You can search for mulberry on the shelves for a short time, from mid-June to early July; the berries deteriorate quickly, and if there are a lot of them, then it’s best to cook something soon. The most popular role of mulberry is in the filling for pies; One of the options is drunk crostat with rosemary. In addition to baking, mulberry goes well in cocktails with gin, replacing blackberries, for example, in this "Bramble".
salt = happiness "has not been canceled yet) or cook a creamy chowder, which, if necessary, can be easily made vegan, according to Jamie Oliver's recipe.
In order not to be mistaken, try to buy corn on the market and find out from sellers how best to cook this or that type, or at least specify what kind of variety: sweet corn can and should be preserved, and good popcorn will come out of the early “red arrow”.
Garlic
Despite the fact that garlic can be found in stores all year round, in the summer it begins its season. We strongly recommend to go to the market for garlic and look for sellers who will sell you not only cloves, but also garlic stalks, which are also called shooters. The arrows can be fried (then, to taste, they will become surprisingly similar to mushrooms) and serve as a side dish - a perfect example of how even in Russian realities you can do something on the principle of sustainable food.
The usual cloves of garlic, in addition to the clear use in salads, marinades for kebab or preservation, can be tried in new versions of dishes - for example, to make a salad of broken cucumbers. And you can just rub garlic toasted slices of black bread.
Peas
Thanks to the achievements of the food industry, we have access to green peas all year round, but only in summer it can be found not frozen, but quite fresh for yourself - at some point it becomes impossible to walk around the market without stumbling on cups of sweet peas. Of course, it's nice to eat peas straight from the pods, but you can add it, for example, to soba with light tofu.
Another great option is pea and mint soup (in the winter version, the peas will be frozen, and instead of mint, you need to add a handful of fried bacon). For a more substantial dinner with peas, you can make a casserole with potatoes, bacon and pesto - however, the components are easily replaced with any leftover food found in the refrigerator.
or even fragrant spread for morning toasts. If you do not want to experiment, simply fry or bake zucchini in the oven with olive oil, any set of fragrant herbs that you find on the market, and large sea salt - fresh and ripe vegetables are good by themselves.
Edamame
Traditionally, edamame was called soybean legumes, but not any, but cooked either in a pair or in salted water. This Japanese snack has become so popular all over the world that edamame is now simply called soybeans, and the cooking technique remains at the discretion of the chef - although steam edamame with large sea salt is still leading.
Like the young peas, edamame is entering the season in the summer, so if you see a pod in the supermarket, take it without a doubt. In addition to regular beans, you can make light, but protein-rich salads, such as quinoa and cucumber, for a couple of edamame. For followers of classical traditions, we recommend to color the dish with chilli, sesame oil and garlic, which will emphasize the sweetness of the beans themselves.
Figs
In principle, the advice to “eat a couple of kilos in one person” can be considered a good option for making figs, but for insufficiently physically trained fig lovers, we have a couple simpler recipes. Figs are a simple and delicate fruit in terms of taste, so you can start entering it into the summer diet with the simplest recipes, for example, from a cheeseboard with figs and honey. At the second stage of complexity - adding figs to salads, for example monochrome sweet salad with plums or salty salad with parma and basil.
Professional fig eaters can advise a more complicated recipe: caramelized figs with peaches and balsamic sauce. And if there is a bit of sherry at home, then he can go to work - to become part of a cake with figs and almonds. On the other hand, if you have a glass of sherry, which can be eaten with a handful of figs, then you can not make a pie.
Egg can be eaten raw or pickled, but large ones already need to be processed thermally. Chopping artichokes is quite difficult, so first it is better to read detailed instructions and prepare morally.
When you are ready for the process, try marinating artichokes in olive oil and herbs (large buds will need to be boiled first, and small ones can be marinated immediately) or cooked cream soup made from artichokes. While fresh vegetables are available, you should not miss the chance to cook a Mediterranean salad with artichokes, palm shoots (if they exist) and oregano.
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