Hello and welcome to the September 22 edition of Our Seasons!
Welcome La Primavera
To celebrate the change of seasons in Wangaratta and the beautiful North East, we share an Italian Spring table of dishes for you to prepare for your family and friends in wonderful Italian tradition.
These recipes make sharing our love of fresh local food easy. All you need is the produce, people you love, and a table with some blossoms!
These recipes use produce from across the market.
The stalls featured will be marked with a special banner on market day.
All of the ingredients will be available at our next Wangaratta Farmers Market on Saturday, 10 September, starting bright and early at 8am!
This month’s market trail
This month we’re highlighting six products and the great producers who make them.
Featured ingredients we’re looking for are;
- Fettucine from Pasta Adele
- Oyster mushrooms from Woodland Gourmet Mushrooms
- Mountaineer cheese from The Peaks Artisan Cheesemakers
- Bacon or turkey bacon from Gamze Smokehouse
- Ravioli from Homemade by Annie
- Meringue shards from Ninn’s Pantry
Now we look forward to sharing the beautiful stories of our market producers with you.
Stop 1: Pasta Adele
First stop on the Our Season Primavera Market Trail is to visit Silvana and Elio at Pasta Adele.
Pasta Adele produce the most delicate handmade pasta, sauces and crostoli from family recipes and skills passed down through generations.
From the foot of Paradise Falls near Cheshunt in the King Valley, Silvana pours kindness and love into all she makes, with her husband Elio beside her.
Silvana began making pasta for markets in the mid 2000s and has been producing ever since.
Silvana makes pasta just as her mother Adele from Northern Italy did, creating, providing for and nourishing her family, friends and community.
And in this, Silvana and Elio have found a new community at markets and this encouraged them to make a family tradition into a much loved business.
Silvana still measures her pasta making as her mother did, by the number of eggs used, she says that in full production she uses up to 40 dozen eggs a week.
Her mother’s legacy continues.
Stop 2: Woodland Gourmet Mushrooms
Woodland Gourmet Mushrooms conjures up comforting earthy thoughts in name, and in nature.
Glen and Anthea Mitchell have been growing oyster mushrooms for a handful of years after being encouraged by their love of markets to pursue a new challenge.
As newlyweds, Glen and Anthea sold cut flowers at markets, returning to the market community with their new love, mushrooms.
Glen describes learning about, growing and marketing mushrooms as an addiction which they thoroughly enjoy.
Glen and Anthea’s mushrooms are highly regarded in the restaurant trade and they sell much of their produce direct but their love of markets sees them involved every month.
Woodland Gourmet Mushrooms produces high-quality oyster mushrooms picked within hours of sale to ensure they supply the best, freshest product possible.
Stop 3: The Peaks Artisan Cheesemakers
The Peaks Artisan Cheesemakers is local business with a European twist.
After much travel, work and study overseas – including selling and studying cheese in France, Luke and Vanessa established their business four years ago near Bright, making stunning cheeses from milk sourced from Kiewa Valley dairies.
The Peaks cheeses change with the seasons, different qualities emerge at different times of the year, textures change, the sweetness can change, but Vanessa explains one thing that seems constant; people’s love of Mountaineer cheese.
This market favourite is one of Our Seasons La Primavera Market Trail products this month.
Stop 4: Gamze Smokehouse
Gamze Smokehouse are renowned for their chemical free, ethically produced, high quality small goods.
Felix has been in the game for years, for years working as butcher with a love of smoking meat – until he threw himself into producing smoked small goods fulltime. Felix experimented with different meat smoking techniques and his products began attracting attention.
Gamze Smokehouse is now well known.
Felix’ son Brendan now heads up the business from Wangaratta, his eldest son Simon works from Melbourne and his son-in-law Jason is also involved, making this a truly family business.
Gamze has been built on a love of quality food production and family – and Felix often tends his market stall with the help of his Grandchildren.
Stop 5: Homemade by Annie
Home Made by Annie is truly as comforting, delicious and lovingly made as it sounds.
Beautifully handmade preserves, jams, pastes and curds as well as pastas and sauces.
From sweet to savoury treats, Annie produces high quality food everyone loves from her base at Glenrowan, much of it grown in her own garden.
Annie’s products really do reflect her beautiful nature .
Her products change with our seasons, so this Saturday make sure you take time to explore Annie’s finest ‘homemade’ goodies .
And if you have a dog in your life, Annie’s dog, Ruffy wants a quiet word in your ear and has asked if you can check out his line of home made dog treats made to tempt even the most discerning dogs of the North East .
With the North East’s cold, wet Winter still fresh in our memories, make the most of Annie last batch of ravioli for 2022 this Saturday.
Her wonderful sweet potato ravioli features in a medley of Italian yumminess we recommend that you share with your ‘favouritest’ friends and family when you invite them over to celebrate La Primavera ( Italian for Spring) at a special Italian themed lunch or dinner using our featured recipes .
Our deliciously simple recipes featuring produced from our six La Primavera producers will be posted on Friday!
(Allora… attenzione questo Venerdi!)
Stop 6: Ninn’s Pantry
Ninn’s Pantry is known for beautifully delicate meringue shards, delicious slices and fabulously bold, colourful biscuits.
What may not be known is that stallholder Bronwyn Ingleton is a respected chef who for many years prepared food for visiting international dignitaries as a chef at the United States Consul General in Melbourne.
Brownyn is true to her roots though and says that growing up in the country gave her a deep sense of appreciation and respect for seasonal produce.
Bronwyn’s love of food has been passed down through generations and she continues to use family recipes and create products with family love and a true appreciation of natural, quality, seasonal fruit and vegetables, rich in nutrients and intense in flavour.
Bronwyn offers her own recipe for Amalfi Eton Mess featuring Ninn’s Pantry meringue shards to finish off this truly memorable (and incredibly yummy) medley of dishes inspired by Italy and Spring…. we cant wait for your to try all the dishes featured in this month’s La Primavera Market Trail!
And tomorrow… make sure you tune in for the big La Primavera recipe reveal!
La Primavera Tavola
A medley of easy Italian-inspired dishes to share with those you love….
Serves 6 people with healthy appetites and a love of life
Ricetta 1: Fettucine with oyster mushrooms and Mountaineer cheese
Easy peasy and delicious… so you get to spend more time out of the kitchen
Ingredients
250g Pasta Adele Home Made Fettucine
450g Woodland Gourmet Oyster Mushrooms
½ cup The Peaks Mountaineer Cheese finely sliced or grated
½ cup Torcaso Produce parsley
3 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper
½ cup cream
Method
Spoon sauce over ravioli.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water for 10 minutes.
- Save ½ cup of pasta water and put it aside. Drain the pasta.
- While pasta is cooking, make the mushroom sauce.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Fry oyster mushrooms in a single layer until both sides are golden.
- Transfer them on a plate.
- Continue with the rest of the mushrooms repeating the same steps.
- Melt butter in the pan before cooking each batch of mushrooms.
- Transfer all fried mushrooms back in the pan.
- Add in garlic, salt and black pepper and cook them together for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in heavy cream, pasta water and parsley.
- Bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Toss in the pasta and let it cook together for 2-3 minutes.
- Taste and add more salt if needed. Remove from the heat.
- Serve immediately with a generous amount of The grated cheese on the top.
Ricetto 2: Sweet potato ravioli with bacon and basil brown butter sauce
Very yummy pasta to complement the the mushroomy creaminess of Ricetta 1
Part 1: Bacon, basil, walnut and brown butter sauce
Ingredients
150 grams Gamze bacon or turkey bacon
1/4 cup butter
2 tabs freshly chopped thyme
1/2 cup toasted King Valley Walnuts, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Note: Before you start the sauce , bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil as you want to have the sauce almost ready before cooking the ravioli
- In a saucepan or saucier over medium heat, melt the butter.
- When the butter is foaming, add the coarsely chopped bacon.
- After 4 minutes, add coarsely chopped toasted walnuts.
- Cook, stirring constantly until the butter is browned and aromatic.
- Don’t let it go past a light to medium brown or it could burn.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried.
- Pour into a heatproof jug to stop the cooking process.
- Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Put into serving dish and pour sauce over ravioli
Part 2: Cooking the ravioli
Ingredients
1 x packet Homemade by Annie sweet potato ravioli
1 tspn salt
Method
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
- Add ravioli.
- Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook until ravioli float to the top and are tender, 2-3 minutes.
- Drain.
Dolce: Amalfi Eton Mess with Meringue Shards
An Italian version of the classic Eton Mess swaps the berries for lemon curd
Ingredients
1/2 cup creme fraiche
⅓ cup thickened cream
¼ cup Ninn’s Pantry Lemon Curd
2 x packets Ninn’s Pantry Pistachio Meringue Shards
Method
- Combine the crème fraîche and thickened cream and whisk briefly to thicken slightly, gently swirl through the lemon curd so the yellow of the curd is still visible.
- Break up 1 X packet of meringue shards and arrange on a share dish with shallow sides.
- Top with spoonfuls of the lemon curd/cream mix.
- Spoon some extra lemon curd on top and place 1 x packet of Ninns Pantry meringue shards into the dessert.
*Feel free to add seasonal fruits to this delicious creation!
Serve with…
Crusty Milawa Bakery Bread and a fresh green salad and a glass of Morrisons of Glenrowan Fiano or Fiano Gargenega
Our Seasons Producers in the Market
Look for the (very green…maybe too green) Our Seasons flags flying along our Market Trail or ask our friendly Market Guides to help you find what you’re looking for.
Can’t wait to see you down there, rain, hail or shine (but always with coffee).