Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

One of the signs of summer is sunflowers, which are primarily grown for their seed and the oil that it produces.

Sunflowers put on a spectacular display, with some species growing three to four metres in height and quite quickly.

As a micro green farmer having researched the amazing nutritional profile of sunflower as a micro green, I was also interested in its flavour. Actually I found the taste creamy and slightly butter like, with a fabulous non-stringy stem.

Sunflower greens are a nutritional powerhouse packed with vitamins A, B complex, D, and E; they also contain minerals including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. So I began to think about what other summer vegetable I could match them with.

The answer was out in the garden, also tall and also related to the colour of the summer sun: fresh corn!

Corn is one of the most widely planted crops in the world, but I often wonder why I grow it when, now that it's ready, my 12 corn seedlings costing around seven dollars and taking all that tender loving care, are compared with what I can buy at the side of the road: 10 cobs for five dollars and I'll be lucky to have more than 15 decent cobs on 12 plants! At least I can eat my corn 15 minutes or so from harvest. And that is the secret! Eating really freshly picked produce that is still pumping, cut down in its prime, sort of like a vegetarian with murderous intent. Or, in regard to micro greens, cut down in their infancy, denying them their growth into full maturity but capturing the essential elements that give flavour and nutrition.

Summer Sun Salad
Two serves

Ingredients

2-3 corn cobs, freshly picked

2 large handfuls fresh cut sunflower micro greens

5 ripe tomatoes, diced

¼ red onion, sliced

4 slices cucumber, cut into small cubes

A few parsley leaves, chopped

Sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

¼ cup olive oil or avocado oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Method

Grow your own sunflower micro greens by sprouting the sunflower seeds sold in pet stores (as they are not treated). Sunflower micro greens take seven days to reach their nutritional peak. Alternately come and see me at the Tauranga or Mount farmers' markets.

Prepare the corn by de-husking and blanching in boiling salted water for about five minutes. Strip all the corn from the husks and cool under running cold water. Gently mix with the rest of the ingredients, adding the oil, lemon juice and seasoning to dress. Serve at once while it's still beating.