Autumnal Eating with North West Nosh #Blog

Sarah Tarmaster
15th November 2018

It’s Tasty Thursday and this week’s instalment is Sarah Tarmaster from North West Nosh. Her feature is all about seasonal foods and the best things to eat at this time of the year. 

Many people think that food wise, this is a boring time of year, with only root vegetables and stew to look forward to until spring comes again. But they’re so wrong.

We might not have the snappy beans, perfumed peaches or sunshine burnished tomatoes of the summer. But I think we have it even better.

At this time of year there are greens galore – the dark iron glory of kale, sweet tenderstem and cabbages. We have interesting roots – the vivid purples of beetroot, short lived Jerusalem artichokes and fragrant celeriac. Then there are the squashes – sweet, soft and super versatile. And mushrooms, we haven’t even discussed mushrooms!

Why this focus on British seasonal produce, I hear you ask? For me it just seems a sensible way to eat. Seasonal produce has travelled less miles, keeps money in the UK farming economy and is usually cheaper. Fruit and vegetables also taste better when they’re grown in season.

So, what is the best fruit or vegetable to be eating at this time of year? To be honest there’s currently so much choice that I can’t pick out one hero for this month, so I’ve gone with three I cook with most.

Squash

Did you know the UK throws away 8m pumpkins after Halloween? I almost feel like going round and scooping up all my neighbourhood pumpkins and making galleons of soup – however a slight sense of social conventions and a small freezer (mainly the latter if I’m being honest) stop me.

Pumpkins and squashes are known for their dense, sweet flesh. The most common form we see (outside of Halloween) is the elongated butternut squash. However, supermarkets are beginning to stock a variety of shapes, sizes and flavours.

Butternut is great roasted and in soups, roasted orange pumpkin spiked with chilli makes great pie, little acorn squashes are great cut in half with garlic and cheese roasted in them and you can even use squash in sweet dishes – pumpkin cakes and muffins are a great way to smuggle extra veggies into the family.

Squashes go with cheese, sage, rosemary, pork, chicken, bitter salad leaves, tomatoes, nuts, chilli, five spice and orange to name just a few. Here’s a great pumpkin pasty recipe, that’s perfect for lunchboxes.

Leeks

Often overlooked for stronger, or fresher tasting alliums, leeks belong to the onion family. This year I’ve been rediscovering the humble leek and elevating it from a soggy side, to something sweet, soft and superbly scoff-able.

Don’t be tempted to go for the massive leeks, those up to about 3cm in diameter are sweeter – bigger leeks tend to be woody and tough. Leeks are great in soups or stews and pair perfectly with creamy, cheesy flavours. They’re also great friend with mustard, pork, bacon and sausages. And who could forget how good they are with potatoes?

However, I think they come into their own when sweated down extremely gently with butter, until they become sticky and translucent – like this they can be mixed into a cheese sauce for a phenomenal side or create the basis of a show-stopping tart, like this one with mushrooms and sharp Lincolnshire cheese.

Kale

Beloved of the wellness crew, I think kale gets a bad name, mainly because it’s green. Cooked too long and it goes flabby, not enough and it can be tough. But cooked well, it’s an interesting, strong tasting green with plenty of health benefits.

My favourite type of kale is black kale, or cavelo nero. With longer, flatter leaves I find it softer in texture, with a more pronounced flavour than traditional curly kale. However, both types are delicious.

Like other cabbages and brassicas kale can take on quite strong flavours – think lemon, garlic, anchovy and chilli. Likewise it’s great with fish, clams, salty bacon and smoked pancetta. As kale is bold you can soften it with cheese, cream or eggs or a comforting, yet nourishing dish.

Kale is robust enough to be placed in a filo style pie, but it’s a star sliced fine and added to soups – I like it placed on top of a steaming bowl of ramen with lots of chilli oil – see, seasonal food doesn’t all have to be stodgy at this time of year!