Aaron Bertelsen at work Photo: Andrew Montgomery
New Zealander Aaron Bertelsen is head vegetable gardener and cook at The Great Dixter – a historic house and garden in East Sussex.
Bertelsen has just written The Great Dixter Cookbook: Recipes from an English Garden.
He talks about the value of good soil and shares a fennel and a kale recipe.
Steamed fennel Photo: supllied
Bertelsen went to work at The Great Dixter, the long-term home of modern gardening forefather Christopher Lloyd, in 2007.
"I wanted to go there for three months and learn some gardening skills… and I never really left."
These days, he's out gardening most of the time and comes inside to cook when there's an event.
"My life is really based around the vegetable garden."
Bertelsen describes himself as a 'home cook' and wanted the book to reflect both that and his commitment to seasonality – "making the most of your gluts".
One of his tips for gardeners is to remember the value of good soil.
"A lot of people are quite rushed when they garden. They don't think about adding to the soil, they'd rather take from it. I think it's a huge mistake because if you've got good soil you're going to have good vegetables."
Kale and mashed potato cakes Photo: supplied
The anise flavour of fennel is subtle when steamed and it goes well with fresh fish, Bertelsen says.
It's quite easy to grow in spring and autumn and doesn't like the summer.
Being Mediterranean in origin, fennel will run to seed very quickly if it gets too warm, he says.
Kale and mashed potato cakes are a good way to slip some greens into the children.
The key is to use nice and fluffy mashed potato.
You can form the cakes and set them aside to cook later or they keep well when left warming in the oven.
