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

There's something quite satisfying about creating your own meals from what can be produced from your garden.

The freshness can't be beaten, when you're eating something grown only moments ago.

Kiwis seem to love gardening – and growing your own vegetables is definitely on the rise –now the warm weather is here seedlings are selling fast.

The trouble is sometimes they just don't grow fast enough when we're after a particular vegetable or herb. Sometimes it just hasn't reached its potential, or so we think. The good news is a few years back someone decided not to wait and eat the seedlings instead – just as they virtually popped out of the ground – and call them
microgreens.

Now they're scattered on restaurant plates throughout the country.

Basically, the nutritional content can be significantly higher with recent studies showing increased levels of phytonutrients in 25 microgreens including red cabbage, coriander, red amaranth and green daikon radish.

So I'm often asked how can we use them? My usual reply is like use them like a seasoning – sprinkle on pasta, stir into soups or use in even a burger like this
week's dish.

This is one the family will love. For the burger meal I use fantastic venison burger patties from the farmers' market and kale, coriander, pak choy, beetroot, red cabbage and microgreens.

Ingredients
1 venison pattie
1 burger bun
Grated cheese to sprinkle
1 tsp mayonnaise and
horseradish sauce
½ tomato, sliced
1 sliced red onion
1 large handful mixed microgreens
Five or six asparagus spears
Olive oil
Juice from one lemon

Method

Grill the bun in the oven with some grated cheese. Cook the venison patties in a little olive oil, then add in the asparagus spears. Cook patties until nearly cooked thru, and while resting the pattie assemble the burger. Layer the ingredients as you like and squeeze some lemon over the asparagus that's been seared off. Serve with some fries.