1 We’re always impressed by what the clever people at Sabato have hunted out to tempt us. This time it’s Rustichella Lemon Laganelle, an artisan pasta subtly flavoured with lemon. Bronze-extruded and using premium-quality coarse ground durum wheat, it cooks to a perfect al dente texture and it’s a wonderful foil for seafood or your best creamy sauce. $19.90 for 250g. sabato.co.nz
2 We love it when an idea gets turned on its head, so what happens when beer meets a favourite English pudding? Eton Mess Imperial Pastry Sour is what – the team at Sunshine Brewing has packed in tons of berry flavours topped off with lashings of vanilla and milk sugar. Beer for dessert could be the next big thing. $12.99 for 450ml. sunshinebrewing.co.nz
3 Locally made Herbivore is a premium coconut butter that’s dairy free and vegan. You can spread it, bake with it, melt it and make butter sauces – you can even use it to make great pastry. Using coconuts from a sustainable supplier in the Philippines, the company claims that Herbivore produces a significantly lower amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared to dairy butter. Find it in 150 New World and Pak’nSave supermarkets across New Zealand. It’s $5.99 for 225g. herbivorebutter.com
4 Tea in a can? These sugar-free sparkling teas by Pause for Tea offer a refreshing chilled drink with flavours of sencha green tea, hibiscus and ginger, spearmint and oolong or chamomile and lavender. Made from organic botanicals on Waiheke Island, they’re $4.99 for a 250ml can. pausefortea.co.nz
5 For sheer wow factor squid ink pasta is up there, its inky black coils glistening seductively on the plate. This Rustichella Squid Ink Linguine is among the best we’ve tried and unlike some others it retains its colour once cooked (so no sad plates of grey pasta here). When the team at Sabato suggests something we take notice, so the idea of pairing the linguine with mussels and ‘nduja is a must. $16.90 for 500g. sabato.co.nz
