Ah the Irish summer. Picnics in cars watching the rain flood down and barbecues that end up taking place indoors. But does it really matter when the food’s this good and your company and your wines match it, then who cares about the weather? (Whether we get the weather or not? That is the question, every summer)

This time of year is great for every eater. Vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, omnivore, dieter-  whatever your fancy and predilection, the earth begins to burst and bloom and give up her harvest from now until October in the most bountiful and splendid way. All the unsurpassable fruits of summer – strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, apricots, peaches, greengages come into their own and seasonal vegetable delicacies like fresh peas, crunchy mange tout and artichokes form the endless combinations of salads and side dishes, plus for the red-blooded the delicious organic meats that we eat all year round get to go al fresco (when the sun shines) burgers, ribs, kebab combinations, all followed by light fragrant deserts. It really is a feast for the senses.

SuperNatural The city market in the summer

The barbeque

The number one most important rule to a better barbeque is this: BUY GOOD MEAT. Buy it organic from a trustworthy source. Organic family farm butchers that care about how their animals are reared, ( grass ) fed, humanely slaughtered and the freshness and quality of the product they are selling you. This goes for buying any meat, but it is even more important with ground meat, since ground meat like mince carries a higher risk of e-coli. The poorer quality is often prepackaged filled with shady stabilisers to increase shelf life and fairly watery to increase weight for profit. Now let’s talk about cuts. Regardless of what food magazines and newspaper articles tell you, you do not need a custom blend of fancy cuts to make a good hamburger. In fact, the best burgers are made from the hard-working, cheaper cuts on an animal. Because these muscles are working harder, there is more blood flowing through them, which translates to more flavour. And, since you’re grinding the meat up, you don’t have to worry about the toughness that often characterises hard-working cuts. Cheap and flavourful — what more could you want?

Classic beef burger

Coolanowle Organic farm butchers from Carlow are a great resource.  They are our organic farm butchers and are worth travelling to the market for. Pork ribs, lamb rack chops or burgers, beef, beef cuts and burgers, sausages or rashers and organic chicken  and cuts –  whatever you fancy Pat is on hand to talk you through your choices or questions.

Don’t forget the veggie burger options either. If you’re feeling a bit lazy you can use a high quality prepackaged mix like Amisa gluten free burger or falafel mix.  Of course we love making our own as the flavours and textures and mixes are endless. You can make the as simple or as complex as you like, the key here is to own a food processor to whizz everything together as a paste and to experiment! 

This is a veggie burger. The ultimate veggie burger.

The Condiments

Better barbeques deserve better condiments of course and like everything in life the higher quality ingredients that go in (literal and/or metaphorical) the higher quality the end result or to be more accurate the more divine the result.  Here are a few basics – sauerkraut, mayo, (vegan) egg free mayo, ketchup, mango chutney, tomato pesto, pickles, beetroot, capers, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard  or you can make homemade condiments and dips such persillade, tahini mayo, hummus or guacamole. 

white radish

artichokes

Elderflower for flavour

hibiscus and summer berry

Of course we are open every Saturday for all your fresh produce and help from our producers and we are very pleased to announce that now we are open online 24/7 for all your cupboard and household shopping too! visit us at www.supernaturalshop.ie

We are now open online for shopping 7 days a week! Wherever you live.