- Home
- Products to Discover
- Green Living
- Local products - 3 Overlooked Locally Grown Foods
Buy Local 
TopLocal products - 3 Overlooked Locally Grown Foods
It’s harvest time! Take advantage of this bountiful time to enjoy variety and try lesser-known foods produced locally. Chard, broad beans and radicchio. Here are some ways to make the most of their flavours!
1Chard
Cultivated in Quebec:
From mid-June to mid-October.
From the same family as kale, spinach, beets and carrots, chard consists of a large green leaf grown on a red, white or yellow stem. All the parts of this plant are edible.
Flavour:
A cousin in taste to spinach, chard is deliciously aromatic, slightly bitter and savoury.
Texture:
Its stems are crunchy like celery, while its leaves are tender and delicate like spinach.
EXPERT Tip
Always blanch chard before cooking it as this ensures it loses most of its bitterness. However, don’t use an aluminum pot. Chard is rich in oxalate, a compound found naturally in many foods, and can blacken the pot.
Chard recipes
2Broad beans
Cultivated in Quebec:
From the end of July to mid-September.
Rich in protein, broad beans belong to the legume family. They’re distinguished by their long inedible husk that covers and gives them their flat shape. The latter are covered in a thin film to be removed before eating. For optimal flavour, choose green pods that are firm and unblemished.
Flavour:
Very sweet, broad beans also feature the subtle flavour notes of fresh herbs.
Texture:
Depending on their level of freshness, their texture varies from very starchy (like a cooked potato) to creamy.
EXPERT Tip
Once shelled, the beans must be lightly peeled. Lightly immerse them in a saucepan filled with salted boiling water, and blanch them for about two minutes. Finally, leave the beans in cold water. The skin should peel off easily.
Broad beans recipes
3Radicchio
Cultivated in Quebec:
From July to mid-October.
This red-leaved chicory comes in two varieties: radicchio di Verona, which is round like iceberg lettuce, and radicchio di Treviso, which is shaped more like the elongated endive.
Flavour:
Eaten raw, radicchio is bitter and slightly spicy. Once cooked, it becomes a little softer for more sensitive palates.
Texture:
Its leaves stay deliciously crunchy even when cooked.
EXPERT Tip
It’s rare to grill leafy greens, but since radicchio is resistant to cooking, just brush it with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice and put it right on the BBQ. Garnish with a bit of goat cheese, some roasted walnuts, and you’ll impress guests out on the deck with this surprising summer dish!
Radicchio recipes
Even more for you
STAY CONNECTED
Download the My Metro app.
Grocery list, flyer, coupons and points all at your fingertips!
Follow us
For more inspiration, recipes and exclusive offers.
