November
The racket sport? Nah, the vegetable! And a charming vegetable, if ever there was one!
What's in season in November, and what recipes do we have for you? Certain vegetables love a nip of frost, none more so than parsnips and kale. Sloes and quinces make excellent preserves and pears are an added seasonal treat. The game season is in full swing and the rich meats are a perfect complement to the root vegetables and jellies.
This misunderstood vegetable (no, it’s not a lettuce) adds character and bite to winter salads and you can cook it, too, says Tom Norrington-Davies.
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.
Nut cracker
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.
Hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts are our more reliable ‘top fruit’ (an old
expression for nuts and stone fruit). As the festive season approaches,
chestnuts become ever more common on market stalls. I favour them in
soups and stews but, like everyone else, love them roasted on an open
fire.
Feeling Christmassy yet? Chestnuts make excellent desserts, too –
a practice more common on the continent. A little chestnut flour added
to bread dough will make a sweet, dense loaf that is good with cheese.
I have included a recipe for a ridiculously easy pud that is rich,
wintry and indulgent.
Nuts usually need to be cooked (roasted)
and peeled before they are added to dishes. Chestnuts are the only nuts
I would recommend you buy pre-prepared – look for them vacuum-packed
and ready-cooked in supermarkets and delicatessens. The oil in nuts –
which is incredibly good for you – deteriorates fast, so where a recipe
calls for ground almonds, it’s far better to buy them blanched and
whole, then whizz them in a food processor.
Walnuts and
hazelnuts are excellent in winter salads, especially when paired with
their own oils. Hazelnuts, roasted and skinned, are good with hot
smoked trout or salmon and a knot of watercress.
Walnuts can be ground
with oil, garlic and a splash of vinegar to make a great dressing for
French beans or just-blanched carrots. They also make a good
alternative to pine nuts in pesto – swap half the basil you’d normally
use for a milder herb, such as parsley.
Try
Roast pepper and garlic salad with hazelnuts recipe
Venison and chestnut casserole recipe
Chestnut and chocolate torte recipe
Walnut pie recipe