Truffles, hazelnuts and cotechino… that’s a dish right there. Plus comically oversized scissors.
It’s over. That frustrating little period in late autumn and early winter has passed. When the complete flight of winter produce has yet to kick in, yet summer’s bounty has long passed. It is the gulch of the year and we’re through it. The brassicas have had their frosts, the olives and hazelnuts are harvested, and the pumpkins are cellaring beautifully. But mainly you can tell we’re through the gulch because the first truffles of the season have arrived! Annette and Nev at TNGT have spent many years and lots of love cultivating what is probably the most revered and canonised ingredient of them all. The first crop of which is landing at Harvest this week. You’ll sense the intoxicating aroma from anywhere in the market.
That is far from all that is tantalising the taste buds this week. Hazelbrae is releasing their new-season raw nuts. Christie and Mick say they still favour last season’s in terms of roasted flavour. Hazelnuts sweeten as they age, meaning they get better throughout the year and store perfectly in the shell for up to 2 years! Hazelbrae are small-batch processors, only shelling roasting and packing what they need at any one time. This ensures customers are always getting the freshest possible product at any given time during the year. Not the mention the return of the chocolate-covered numbers!
Nuts had a good season with fantastic weather for harvesting. Although towards the end some producers had to wait a few extra days for the last nuts to drop! Patience is a virtue though, and we’re certain the wait was worth it.
But, what to serve with our truffles and hazelnuts, we hear you ask. Answer: Fork it Farm cotechino. This sausage is one of Italy’s great gifts to the meat-loving world, prepared by filling a natural casing with rind, pork meat, fat, salt and spices. A sticky, succulent, coarse-textured affair of porky bits and fine spices. Such a rich and succulent affair requires robust accoutrements. This is where the sweet crunch of hazelnuts and the pungent aroma of fresh black truffles slot right in like a hand in a possum-fur glove.
AVZ At Harvest
It is finally upon us, the launch of Launnie place branding. The culmiation of 4 years work by Claire, Angie and the team. We have been talking about this for a little while now. We knew this would be a big deal, but we have come to learn that it has become such a big deal as to warrant a ribbon-cutting. His Worship the Mayor Albert Van Zettenn (who, by the way, should be cultivating himself a street acronym so we’re starting that for him. You’re welcome AVZ) will be cutting said ribbon, with what we sincerely hope will be comically oversized scissors. This, plus a poetry reading by local legend Bert Spinks, and a raft of buskers and performers.
We are tying a beautiful ribbon the hard graft of Claire and Angie and sending it out into the world. Not the same ribbon that gets cut by his worship though. Ironic analogies aside, this is a seriously big deal for the City of Launceston and Harvest, and we are so very excited to see it come to life.
Projecting ourselves further into winter, we have more on the horizon from the Hawthorn Hawks, agriCULTURED, ABLED Kitchen and Eat Well Tasmania. We will of course be bringing you the details of such when the moment arises. Harvest Market is so much more than a weekly farmers’ market, and we love sharing our space and supporting all manner of local businesses, events and community groups.