British seasonal food « Penny Golightly

Seasonal foods to eat in January

January 20th, 2011 by Penny Golightly

It might not look like there’s much sprouting away in the garden at this time of year, but don’t be fooled. The majority of the root vegetables and brassicas are in full swing, and there’s plenty of fish and feathered game around too.

What’s good to eat right now?

Fruit: apples and pears from store, forced rhubarb, last few seasonal nuts, quince and medlars. Imported Seville oranges.

Vegetables: Asian greens, brussels sprouts and tops, cabbage (red, white, green), cardoons, celeriac, chicory, endive, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, parsnips, salsify and scorzonera, swedes, turnips, wild garlic, winter varieties of cauliflower.

Fish and shellfish: brill, brown crab, clams, cockles, cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, mussels, pike, native (rock) oysters, scallops, turbot, whiting. As ever, you may wish to avoid anything that’s been overfished.

Meat, poultry and game: mutton, partridge, pheasant, snipe, wild duck (mallard, teal, pintail, widgeon), woodcock.

Cheeses: Stilton, Blue Wensleydale, Appleby and other Cheshire cheeses, Lancashire cheeses, Bonchester, Sharpham. Bresse Bleu, Cantal, Pont L’Eveque, Roquefort.

What are you going to cook? I think I’ll be making some hearty soups and stews, some spiced cabbage as a side dish, and some fruit crumble or fruity rice pudding. Please tell me about your favourite January recipes or thrifty seasonal food tips.

Tags: British seasonal food, game season, January foods in season, January ingredients, seasonal food in January, seasonal fruit and veg, UK food in season
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Book Review: British Seasonal Food by Mark Hix

January 20th, 2011 by Penny Golightly

This book is something really special from Mark Hix, the clever restaurateur and ingredients expert behind Le Caprice, The Ivy, J. Sheekey, Hix Oyster & Chop House and HIX. It’s the slightly more affordable paperback version of the epic hardback he had published in 2008.

What do you need to know about it? Well, for starters, it’s gorgeous. Beautifully laid out, full of appealing photography and quirky illustrations, and clearly brimming with enthusiasm for the best of our British ingredients. It would make a great gift, or you could treat yourself if you’re hankering after some inspiration.

The bottom line with Hix’s cooking is flavour and quality, but bargain hunters will also like many of his thrifty, and often sustainable, ideas. There’s a lot of information here about foraging food for free, and getting the full use out of meat, fish and vegetables to minimise waste. I also like his comments about when it’s worth paying more for certain ingredients and when it definitely isn’t.

It isn’t too gardening-focused, but home-growing fans will find all kinds of passing information about different kinds of fruit, herbs and veg to inspire their kitchen garden planning. It includes mentions of the main cropping seasons, but there isn’t much about planting or good things for small gardens.

One of the most useful features of British Seasonal Food is that each of the monthly chapters focuses on a tiny handful of ingredients that are at their best. There are several recipes based around each ingredient, ranging from the very simple to the showy, which shows you how to use up plentiful supplies and make the most of a glut. This includes preserves, and soups and other meals that can be frozen.

Unusually, I can’t find anything to be particularly critical about. So, to sum up: an elegant, engaging book full of handy information and enticing recipes.

The paperback edition of British Seasonal Food by Mark Hix is available from the 4^th of March 2011, published by Quadrille, with an RRP of £14.99. It’s currently available to pre-order from Amazon for £9.74, including free delivery.

Tags: bon viveur on a budget, British seasonal food, eat well for less money, money saving tips, Penny Golightly book review, seasonal fruit and veg, vegetables in season
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Kitchen garden: October takedown

October 17th, 2010 by Penny Golightly

And now, more fabulous foodstuffs on a shoestring. The kitchen garden is amazingly still giving us a few plum tomatoes and a lot of green beans, although most years these would have been finished weeks ago.

The cherry tomatoes are finished, so I’ve cut them all down and composted them.

This year I’m trying out different seeds for ‘green manures’, to see whether they will partially or fully revive the compost in the planters, and stop weed growth and nutrient loss in the bare patches of ground. It’s a bit late to sow most types of these seeds after the unusually long growing season, but I have some ‘grazing peas’ which are OK to plant in October and November, so fingers crossed.

Canes have been pulled up and cleaned, small pots have been emptied, washed and rinsed out with scalding water, and dead leaves have been raked and swept up. But that doesn’t mean that the garden is shutting down for winter. Far from it…. The big brassicas are only just getting going. The white sprouting broccoli has started its growth spurt, and is already monstrously big like Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors, (shown here with gigantic cat nearby for scale):

And the brussels sprouts should be ready for December. The stems have buttons on them already. Here they are before I took away the dead leaves and gave them a bit of mulch:

The mini-greenhouse is still giving us sweet peppers and chillies, but I’ll bring them back inside to the sunny warm windowsill at the end of the month. Then I’ll plant out my remaining dwarf kale and purple sprouting broccoli seedlings and give the greenhouse a good scrub out with detergent. I’m hoping I can keep a few herbs and hardy salads growing under cover though the colder months, but will write about that later.

Meanwhile, here’s what I brought in at lunchtime: chillies, green sweet pepper, tomatoes to ripen indoors, salad burnet, French beans, fennel, spring onions and radishes. Not bad for the middle of October.

Are you growing any herbs or vegetables at the moment? What have you been doing to get things ready for winter?

Tags: British seasonal food, grow your own herbs, grow your own veg, kitchen garden, windowsill kitchen garden
Posted in Home & garden | 1 Comment »

Seasonal foods in September

September 1st, 2010 by Penny Golightly

September foods can vary – you might get cooler weather or you might get an Indian summer with lots of extra ripe tomatoes, aubergines and chillies. Either way, hunting down some tasty seasonal foods will save you some cash or get you the best of the best.

Bon appetit! What will I be looking out for at the market?

Fruit: apples, bilberries, blackberries, blueberries, damsons, elderberries, figs, grapes, greengages, juniper berries, Kentish cobnuts, loganberries, pears, plums, raspberries, sloes. Imported melons, nectarines and peaches.

Vegetables: all salad leaves, asian greens, aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, late summer cauliflower, celery, chillies, chives, courgettes, cucumbers, fennel, globe artichokes, green beans (French and runner), green and red cabbage, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, marrows, peppers, pumpkins and squashes, radishes, red onions, rocket, salsify and scorzonera, samphire, shallots, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, swedes, sweetcorn, summer squash, tomatoes, watercress, wild mushrooms (ceps, chanterelles, oyster, puffball, shaggy ink cap and more).

Fish and shellfish: black bream, brown and rainbow trout, brown hen crabs, brown shrimp, clams, Dover sole, eels, lobster, mussels, native oysters, pilchards, plaice, prawns, scallops, sea bass, signal crayfish, skate, sprats, squid, turbot.

Meat, poultry and game: Michaelmas goose, Autumn lamb, grouse, partridge, venison at its best, wild duck.

Cheeses: Double Gloucester, Farmhouse Cheshire. Brie de Meaux.

I think I’m going to have a go at making some baked marrow or squash this week. I’m leaving a couple of courgettes to grow into marrows in the back garden, so fingers crossed they’ll be ready soon. And I’m also going to grab a big slice of Brie de Meaux to have in baguettes or in a baked fondue. Mmmmmm, tasty!

What are you going to cook?

Tags: British garden kitchen, British seasonal food, grow your own vegetables, seasonal food in the UK, September fruit and vegetables, vegetables in season
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