Vegetables

Bok choy is the ubiquitous household leafy green, and one of the most popular vegetables in Asia. It is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K, along with essential minerals such as potassium, calcium and manganese.

Barry’s tips: Stir fry Bok Choy with sweet snow peas, white/brown button mushrooms, and carrots. You will have a great nutritious variety in a simple dish!

Silverbeet, with its large green leaves and white stalks, has an earthy flavour and is a good source of folate, fiber and vitamins. In the same family as beets, it is often thought to be similar to spinach.

Silverbeet can be used in pretty much any dish you can add spinach to. Add the young leaves raw and shredded to salads, or use them with the mature leaves in stir-fries, curries, quiches, soups and noodles.

Store both stalks and leaves in a sealed plastic bag. Or wash it and wrap it in paper towels for ultimate freshness and storage time.

Barry’s tip: Why not try seasoning the leaves and baking them in the oven for chips similar to kale chips?

The superfood salad mix contains small young salad greens. The mix may vary by availability of greens such as endive, rocket, chervil, kale green and dino.  It is an easy choice when making a quick salad that adds colour and variety in your greens and at the same time packs a great nutritional punch!

Meet the sweeter sister of the carrot, Dutch Carrots are brilliant when gently roasted in the oven.

As a beautiful addition to liven up a meal, its top leafy greens can also be eaten; in salads or be used as a garnish!

Despite its crisp taste, it packs loads of vitamins and nutrients beneficial to health and blood pressure. Throw some rocket leaves into your salad for that hint of peppery flavour.

The Purple Kumera has red skin and a creamy white firm textured flesh streaked with purple.  It has a mellow flavour that is less sweet than that of Golden Kumera.  As with other Kumera, it is a bit more starchy than the American cultivars of sweet potato.

A great source of dietary fiber and bursting with nutrients this little root veggie has a myriad of uses.  Steam it, grill it or bake it!  It tastes great either way. When prepared right, it is a tasty addition to any dinner table.

Barry’s tips: You can add it to mashed potatoes, make potato wedges, gratin, soups or even in salads. You can also use it as you would other sweet potatoes, though you may need to add a little extra liquid to the recipe for it to achieve the same texture.

Capsicum (also known as bell pepper) comes in several different shapes and colours, and is common ingredient in recipes all around the world. It is related to its spicier variety the chilli pepper, but is milder and larger. Red, yellow and orange capsicums are sweeter than their green counterparts, which have a more bitter flavour.

The origin of the bean was South America (Peru and Columbia). Beans were first introduced into Europe by the Spanish conquistadors and were known to be widely grown in Italy vegetable gardens since 1569.

Round beans, also known as French beans, are the most common kind of beans. These green beans are crisp and tender and can be eaten raw or cooked! Store green beans in a plastic bag in your fridge for maximum longevity.

Steam, boil or stir-fry them. They are great in salads, vegetable dishes, soups, casseroles, sandwiches, dips or stir-fries.

Dino kale is darker in colour than the curly green variety. The dark green leaves of this variety are easier to digest and they are bursting with nutrition and have an earthy, nutty flavour. Dino kale is well suited to braising, blanching or sautéing. It can also be used raw in juices.