November
What vegetables, fruits, meat and fish are in season this nippy November, and what recipes do we have for you to try?
Late autumn’s bounty offers us hazelnuts, chestnuts and walnuts. And imagine how your kitchen will smell if you roast them yourself, says Tom Norrington-Davies.
This misunderstood vegetable (no, it’s not a lettuce) adds character and bite to winter salads and you can cook it, too.
Although apples, pears and quinces have flourished as far afield as India and Persia, most of us have always associated them with the English country garden. Tom Norrington-Davies urges us to explore their versatility and to try some of our wonderful lesser-known varieties.
Celebrate... squash
The racket sport? Nah, the vegetable!
Winter squashes are generally more intensely-flavoured and nutritious than summer squashes, and are high in beta carotene which is converted into Vitamin A (great for eyesight, skin and your immune system), as well as vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium and fibre.
Butternut squash is especially high in beta carotene, while Acorn squash is a good provider of calcium. And it's not just the flesh that has health-giving properties: the seeds are a great source of B vitamins and protein – toast 'em and salt 'em, we say.
A member of the cucurbit family, which includes pumpkins, cucumbers and melons, squashes are allegedly the first food to be cultivated by American Indians – a fact that may, if you're lucky, come in handy during a pub quiz one day.
delicious. squash recipes
Beef balti with squash
Kabocha squash soup with pumpkin seed pesto
Squash risottos
For a full list of squash recipes, click here