Taking a fresh approach: A masterclass in how to pick the best produce

Executive chef Ivan Musoni of Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villa and Spanish chef Senan Gonzalez who is in the capital for masterclasses show us how to pick the best produce at the fish and farmer's market .

Senén González, left, and Ivan Musoni, sample dates at the fruit and vegetable market, Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi. Delores Johnson / The National

When Ivan Musoni creates a delicate menu that showcases the finest local seasonal produce in every dish, the process does not start in the kitchen.

It is midday in the capital and Musoni, executive chef at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, is dressed in his chef whites, prodding fruit, smelling vegetables and inspecting the gills of fish at the produce markets of Mina Zayed Port.

It is there, among the vendors who hawk each morning’s catch fresh off the boats, or who have driven from Al Ain or Fujairah to set up stalls overflowing with locally-grown vegetables, that Musoni starts to visualise the concoctions and sweet and salty pairings he often combines to impress gastronomes.

This effort to put the highest- quality food on the table can be replicated by home cooks, too. To show us how it is done, the Italian took us on a produce- shopping trip with him, ­revealing how to navigate the markets and find the best ingredients.

Joining him was visiting Spanish chef Senén González, of Sagartoki Restaurant in the Basque Country of northern Spain, who is in the capital to collaborate with Musoni at a Masters of Food event.

“The best time to look for the freshest ingredients in the local markets is about 5pm,” Musoni says, as we enter the aromatic fruit and vegetable market.

“This is because in these local markets, it is the men that do most of the shopping and they come here after work.”

The stalls are brimming with produce sourced from all over the Middle East.

“Take your time smelling and touching everything,” he says.

To get the most flavour out of the ingredients you buy, the chefs suggest creating dishes around seasonal produce.

“Right now, I would say that beetroot is in season and so that would bring vibrancy not only to salads but main dishes, too.”

Beetroot is packed with ­immune system-boosting vitamins and can help to lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. It is also popular in drinks to boost stamina during workouts.

Picking the perfect beets involves checking they are firm, with smooth skin and unwilted leaves. The chefs have created tapas with fresh beetroot paired with sheets of dried beetroot, carrot and spinach to create vegetarian nori-style rolls.

Musoni suggests adding cucumbers to your diet for a cooling effect during the summer, but warns that as they get overripe the water content decreases – so be sure to inspect the flower of the fruit before buying.

“The flower on the top is a good sign to tell us that this is a product we must buy,” he says.

“The cucumber flower does not have the same shelf life – if the flower has wilted and fallen off, that means it isn’t fresh.”

Cucumbers, which can be part of a hearty salad or paired with grilled fish for freshness, are believed to help reduce the risk of cancer, while their antioxidant properties are said to promote a healthy heart and brain.

Some vendors specialise in herbs. Musoni points out that the most flavourful are found in the evening at the markets. Here, there is plenty of coriander and mint tied in bunches, brought in from Al Ain.

“The greener they are, the better – and their aroma... tells it all,” he says, as he picks up a bunch of thyme to check the subtle aroma. “But for some herbs, like rosemary, you might want them to dry out a bit to intensify the flavour.”

Rosemary can be air-dried,­ oven-dried or dehydrated and used in stuffing for meat and poultry dishes.

We move to the fish market, where the best times to get the day’s freshest catch are around sunrise or sunset.

“The best thing about this fish market is that after your select your fish, they will clean them thoroughly for you,” says Musoni. “There are even a few shops there that will cook it for you, too.”

The odour of fresh seafood is overpowering but doesn’t reek, which would be an indication it is stale. Kingfish, hammour, giant lemon fish, tuna, the local shari and farshi, are all displayed on ice at the neatly-lined stalls.

Musoni says farshi and shari are popular in Arabic cuisine.

“The farshi is a white-meat fish with pink skin,” he says. “It works very well fried, steamed or grilled on charcoal. That is why it is eaten a lot here.”

González says inspecting the gills and eyes is crucial when selecting the best-quality fish.

“The gills must be bright red, which means they have just been caught, and they must be wet or moist. The eyes must be shiny – old fish are cloudy and sunken.”

Less-fresh fish tend to smell stronger and the gills will be dry and covered with slime.

Musoni also advises ­residents to take advantage of the high-quality local dates. The date market offers many varieties, from Ajwa dates cultivated in Madinah, which help to regulate insulin, to Medjool, which are grown in the UAE and are ideal as a sugar substitute in ­desserts.

“Everything has a distinct smell that helps us figure out how they can pair with other ingredients and also whether they are ripe or stale,” González says, before tasting one.

“Tasting them allows us to identify whether they are sweet and honey-like, or more caramel in taste,” says Musoni. “Then we can use them to bring different flavours and textures to the dish.”

Different types of dates can be used for mains or in desserts, he adds.

“There is the yellow or red, depending on where they come from,” he explains. “The yellow one is more acidic and can be used in salads. The darker ones are sweeter and work well with desserts.”

• Masters of Food is at Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi until Tuesday.