As always, some interesting or new products caught my eye and tastebuds.
Ross Hutchison, of Blue Water Products, had a sample of his delicious Vikings gravadlax and Baxter House hot-smoked salmon cured with ginger and other spices.
They also now have individually vacuum-packed and frozen New Zealand King Salmon steaks - very handy to have on hand for quick meals.
Another handy product is salmon mince, an affordable way to buy fresh salmon for patties or pies.
They are available from Blue Water's shop on Portsmouth Dr and at Agora in Gordon Rd, Mosgiel.
Pasta gets corny
Pasta d'Oro has a new range of gluten-, dairy- and egg-free pasta which Vito Iannece and Penny Dawson have spent a year developing.
It's based on corn but behaves like normal pasta, and comes as fresh fettuccine and lasagne as well as various dried shapes.
Along with their pestos, other pastas and ready-to-eat meals, it's available from their factory shop in Kaikorai Valley Rd and their stall at the Otago Farmers Market, as well as a few good supermarkets.
Baking for all
Another producer of gluten-free, dairy-free and other baked goods for people with allergies is The Gingerbread Man Bakery in Christchurch.
Carl Black and his wife, Katrina, (who is dairy- and gluten-free) make slices such as ginger crunch and marshmallow, muffins, biscuits, meat pies and sausage rolls as well as breads.
Fizzical
I'm not usually a fan of fizzy drinks, but at the Bell Tea stand I was persuaded to try some of the new Native Infusions, a blend of green tea, sparkling mineral water, herbs, fruit, and pohutukawa honey.
They are neither too sweet nor too fizzy, and have attractive flavours - apple and feijoa with manuka, lemon and lime with kawakawa, and tangerine with makomako.
A healthy alternative to most other carbonated drinks.
They are not widely available here yet, but look for them soon in smart cafes and bars and good supermarkets.
Going nutty
One of the most interesting stands was that of Dot and Ivan Burney, who grow hazelnuts at Nutlands near Invercargill.
From their 2000 trees they produce fresh and roasted hazelnuts, hazelnut butter and a choconut spread, dukkah, and also finely ground hazelnut flour and a rich, nutty oil.
Ivan kept telling me how good it was for the skin, but I was thinking about its culinary uses when I took a bottle home to experiment with.
Hazelnut oil is ideal to drizzle over chicken, risotto, roast pears, and is particularly good with roasted cauliflower, roasted Jerusalem artichokes and steamed greens - add a few crushed roasted hazelnuts, too.
In a vinaigrette with sherry vinegar or lemon juice and a little whole-grain mustard, it's a delicious dressing, especially for bitter greens such as rocket and radicchio.
You can also use it in baking - either substitute 1 Tbsp oil for 15g butter or, if the recipe calls for oil as in, say, carrot cake, substitute about a quarter of the oil with hazelnut oil.
Nutlands' hazelnuts are ground very finely and can be substituted for one third of the flour in a recipe or used in a stuffing or crusty topping for chicken or fish. Phone (03) 235-8993 or email hazels@nutlands.co.nzUsing hazelnutsI prefer to grind hazelnuts more coarsely for dukkah, and for the pungent, garlicky Turkish sauce tarator - soak a slice of bread in water or milk, squeeze out the liquid and put in a processor with a handful of hazelnuts, a clove of garlic and whizz.
Thin with a little lemon juice and hazelnut, olive or rice bran oil until the consistency of thick cream.
Serve on vegetables, pasta, fish or chicken.
Hazelnut biscuits
2 Tbsp hazelnut oil
120g butter
150g sugar
250g self-raising flour
90g ground hazelnuts
1 egg
Cream butter, oil and sugar, add flour, nuts and egg.
Form dough into a roll, wrap in cling flim and chill in the fridge until firm - overnight is fine.
Slice thinly and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper.
Bake at 190degC for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned.
Leave on tray for a few minutes to harden, then cool on a rack.
Store in an airtight container.
