Fruit And Veggies Outside The Supermarket

Since my first arepa, I've wanted to try to make my own but there's a vital ingredient not available in the supermarkets. 

I was delighted to find Harina PAN cornflour at a local convenience store near my flat-to-be. This is cornmeal which is a common starch ingredient for South American foods. Not only did I find it, it was only £1.69 (it's £3.85 online!) and I managed to buy a bundle of fresh produce that didn't cost a fortune.

Fruits and vegetables don't taste anything like they used to when I was a kid. I've grew up on homegrown produce. Mum had to grow her own chinese veggies because we lived in a small country town and such things were unheard of. Tomatoes from my garden had an intense flavour and aroma. They were sweet and each plant was laden with so much ripe fruit, we had to give the surplus away. 

The quality of supermarket produce nowadays in the UK is shameful, overpackaged and picked before they're ripe. Veggies are imported as far away as Eygpt, South Africa, Thailand and Peru. What happened to buying local or at least from the EU? My rubbish bin would be half full of plastic trays and wrapping at the end of the week. Buying produce from the supermarket is not environmentally friendly.

Here's my haul from the local store including plantains, passionfruit and even medlars which the shopkeeper let me try for free. Only in farmers markets have I seen produce as fresh as this. 

I figured the easiest thing to make with the PAN flour was empanadas. I'm still working out my own method because they are fiddly. Here is my first attempt.  A few cracked so I'm adding more water and oil and keeping them coated in oil before they are put in the oven. Despite their shabby appearance they were delicious. I love the crunchy cornmeal and texture. I filled them with cheese, spinach, potato, yellow zucchini and onion.

I surprised Grant with the passionfruit because he said he hadn't had one in 10 years. They're rare in the UK and always overpriced. I bought two of the freshest ones I've ever seen for £1! He loved them.