‘The buckets are in!’ Dean tells me. Sure enough, those white plastic buckets filled with 1.25kg of blueberries command one end of the Blueberry Fields stall, buckets customers buy then nibble their way through. Peak availability of the berries is October through to February but already they seem to be everywhere. Dean has been operating the stall for about nine years for the Brooklet-based business, now in its 30th year.
Next door, there’s Monty and his strawberries. ‘Doubtless God could have made a better berry,’ said William Butler in about 1600, ‘but doubtless God never did.’ Who doesn’t love strawberries? And Monty’s are looking particularly radiant at the moment, although he tells me it’s not been a great season and he’s had to throw a lot away ‘because of the wet.’ Today the sun shines and the customers cluster. Fortunately we have other berry stalls such as Tallogum Berries, The Morrows and you’ll find certified organic strawberries at Summit Organic Farm.
Of course I’ll be eating the berries in their natural, unadorned state, but I cannot resist making a free-form berry tart. In a food processor whizz together 300g. butter, 150g icing sugar and 2 eggs then add 600g plain flour. Turn it out, press it into a disc and chill in plastic film for 20 minutes while you prepare the berries. In a bowl tumble gently together a punnet of blueberries and a punnet of strawberries, halved if large, 150g raw sugar and the grated rind of half a lemon – set aside 15 mins. Preheat the oven to 200C. Roll the pastry out to a rough oval on a large sheet of baking paper and transfer both to a baking tray. Pile the berries into the centre and, using the baking paper, lift the pastry all around to half-cover the fruit, leaving an opening in the centre. Sprinkle with extra raw sugar then bake 45-55 mins or until golden with juices bubbling and berries glossy. Gorgeous with thick cream!
Monty’s Strawberries, Blueberry Fields and Summit Farms are at New Brighton every Tuesday from 8 – 11am and Mullumbimby every Friday from 7 – 11am.
Victoria Cosford
