The summer kitchen: peak season and the grill
July and August are peak season, and the grill is hot. Stems over the coals, stir-fry, chips, dolma, and shakshuka: five recipes for the weeks when the crate never empties.
In July a healthy row of silverbeet produces faster than most households eat. That isn't a problem, it's an invitation: these are the weeks to let silverbeet be the everyday vegetable in everything, from breakfast eggs to the barbecue.
The grill is the season's most important tool. The stems behave like asparagus over the coals: they take direct heat, pick up charred edges, and develop a sweetness quick pan-frying never finds. The largest leaves are ready-made wrappers for rice and herbs, and a low oven turns the rest of the bunch into chips.
Eat fresh now and save the preserving for autumn. The leaves are at their mildest and juiciest in July, and that belongs on the plate, not in the freezer.
The recipes
Grilled Rainbow Chard Stems with Lemon Aioli
Stems straight over the coals pick up charred edges and a sweetness you didn't know they had, and the lemon aioli does the rest.
Rainbow Chard Stem Stir-fry
Crisp-tender stems over high heat, done before the rice has steamed.
Crispy Baked Silverbeet Chips
Light, crisp, and dangerously easy to eat: summer's answer to crisps, straight from your own bed.
Stuffed Silverbeet Leaves with Rice & Herbs
Summer's largest leaves rolled around rice and herbs, a dolma straight from the garden.
Shakshuka with Silverbeet
Late summer breakfast or light dinner: eggs poached in tomato, with silverbeet folded in at the end.
Tips
- Harvest in the morning before the heat; that's when the leaves are crispest and the stems juiciest.
- Large leaves are ready-made wrappers: blanch them for 30 seconds and they roll without splitting.
- Grill the stems whole and cut them afterwards; nothing falls through the grate.