What's In Season For February
February is the last official month of Summer and the 'love month' because of widespread Valentine's Day celebrations. Assuming a few of you will cook for your sweethearts, top Chefs recommend keeping the menu nice and simple.
Beyond that the secret to success is selecting sexy ingredients; pick the best quality seasonal produce that promises to release the richest flavours into your dish and consider using recipes built around ingredients that have purported aphrodisiacal properties.
What's in Season for February
Arriving at your local market, you'll find tomatoes easing in price with a steady line of
Start a romantic meal with oysters au naturel with Prosecco foam and salmon caviar, followed by Panzanella Tuscan bread and tomato salad and Eastern rock lobster with samphire and yuzu butter. Don't forget to add bubbles of choice to really set the mood...
Desserts at this time of the year scream strawberries, which are also rumoured to have the potential to ignite flames of passion, especially when teamed with a healthy dose of serotonin-filled chocolate. These strawberry and white chocolate ganache tartlets are sure to lift the heart rate and mood come February 14.
There's nothing stopping you from being a sexy Chef all month long, for more recipes to entice your Valentine click here.
Fruits in Season
Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Bananas, Berries – blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, gooseberries, loganberries, mulberries, raspberries and strawberries; Cherries, Figs, Grapes, Guava, Kiwifruit, Lemons, Limes, Lychees, Mangoes, Mangosteen, Melons – honeydew, rockmelon and watermelon; Nectarines, Oranges – Valencia in particular; Paw Paws, Passionfruit, Peaches, Pears - Howell, Williams and red sensation; Pineapples, Plums, Rambutan, Starfruit, Tamarillo and Tomatoes.
Vegetables in Season
Asian Greens, Beans - Borlotti, butter, flat, green and snake; Broccoli, Broccolini, Capsicum, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chilli, Choko, Cucumber, Daikon, Eggplant, Leek, Lettuce, Okra, Onion – brown, salad and spring; Peas – green, snow and sugar snap; Radish, Squash, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Watercress, Zucchini and Zucchini Flowers.