Autumn Food
- By Sonya Meagor
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- 22 Sep, 2018
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Today’s blog post is all about autumn food – the changing of the seasons and the changing of colours in our food.
This season we have shades of orange and green - squashes, pumpkin, kale, marrow, along with shades of purple - aubergine, plums, beetroots and blackberries.
Have you picked blackberries yet? They seem to come earlier every year. I have some in the freezer at home all bagged up ready to make a crumble for pudding one Sunday soon.
Quick tip on freezing them: after washing, place on a tray and lay flat in your freezer with the berries not on top of each other - a few hours later you can transfer into bags and the berries won't be stuck to each other.
English fruits such as apples and pears to look out for...…….
Quince is in my garden looking quite ripe and I'll be picking in a week or so to make a jelly - lovely with cheese (my one weakness!!).
Moving on to meat and fish: Game is now in season and my favourite meat at this time of year...….venison.
Oysters are back - any month with an “r” in means oysters. Clams are back too - I love vongole, so going to share my recipe - talk about something quick for supper.
Vongole for two
Get a good quantity of clams and give them a quick rinse. If they open up then bin them.
Get your pasta water boiling and add a pinch of salt - add pasta and cook.
While it's cooking, prepare your flat leaf parsley, I use the stalks too as there's plenty of flavour there - roughly chop.
If you like tomato in your sauce, use little cherry ones whole.
Chop two cloves of garlic finely and a red chilli if you like a little spice.
Have your white wine at the ready for the sauce and a glass with dinner after of course.
In a frying pan pop a good glug of olive oil and add the garlic, chilli and tomatoes - stir for a minute or two.
Then add a small glass of white wine and your clams and place a lid on, then give the pan a shake on the stove top - let it bubble away for 3/4 minutes until the clams have opened - discard any that don't open. Your pasta should be cooked by now, so drain and add to the pan and mix with the clams and sauce then add the parsley stalks and stir.
To serve - tip on to the plates and finish with chopped parsley leaves and a final touch of olive oil - yummy!
And enjoy that glass of white wine with it too - try a Verdicchio.
Have you had any oysters or game yet ?
The Millfield theatre is home to eco cuisine and the events have been held here too for that reason.
OLIO (the food app) and NLWA (North London Waste Authority) CROPDROP (local Haringey boxed fruit/vegetable scheme) plus our very own Sonya Meagor (eco cuisine) are confirmed as our first speakers and we're For each event, we support a North London based charity related to the event theme - for this event we're delighted to collaborate with The Felix Project .
TICKETS
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustainable-food-packaging-tickets-61490383392?aff=website
With less than two weeks until Christmas and the holidays nearly upon us, the shops are stocked with delicious festive treats and people are already stocking up on Christmas food fit for a feast or two.
But, just because it is Christmas doesn’t mean we should not consider what is in season and keeping sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
So, what is in season over December and the winter seasons in Britain? Well, thankfully many of the Christmas time favourites are favourites for a reason – they’re traditionally easily grown and sourced in the U.K. over winter. Cabbage, sprouts, potatoes and onions, celeriac, celery and carrots as well as parsnip and swede are all in season this time of year. Not forgetting chestnuts, beef and venison and even guinea fowl too.
So roast dinners with all the trimmings can be environmentally friendly! Of course clementines, pomegranates and dates are seasonal favourites too and these are obviously not sourced locally.
Whatever you buy and eat over the festive season, remember to consciously consume – making informed and conscious decisions about what you buy and eat.
In the lead-up to the Christmas break we enjoy hearty, warming foods, keeping us warm in the cold weather and suitably fuelled over this busy season.
We enjoy Rumbledethumps – for those who haven’t heard of it, it is the Scottish equivalent of bubble and squeak as it is often made with leftovers, though it isn’t usually fried. It is a lovely filling dish served as a side or when served with a nice piece of fish or chicken breast can even be a substantial main meal.
Rumbledethumps
550g large potatoes,
350g swede
60g unsalted butter
250g kale, finely sliced
1 small onion diced
Sprigs of thyme
25g cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Peel and chop the potatoes and the swede and chop into large chunks. Next, boil in a saucepan tender. Drain and return to the pan.
Heat three quarters of the butter in a pan on medium low heat and cook the kale and the onions for a few minutes, until the kale is tender and onions lightly browned.
Add the kale and onions to the pan with the potatoes and swede then add the remaining butter and mash together. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the mashed medley into an ovenproof dish and top with the cheese. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes, or until piping hot and golden-brown on top. Serve with fresh thyme.
What winter dishes keep you going in the lead-up to the Christmas break? Let us know in the comments.
