Penny Golightly » UK food in season

Seasonal foods to eat in January

Penny Golightly — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:27:58 +0000

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.

Seasonal foods in March

Penny Golightly — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:33:58 +0000

Seasonal food in March is pretty strange – there isn’t a lot of it, for a start. Much of March is traditionally known as the ‘hungry gap’, where stored foods are running out, most overwintering veggies are past their best, and the first Spring crops won’t be ready for a few more weeks.

Things are improving in the UK as growers extend growing seasons with polytunnels, coldframes and greenhouses, and try out new varieties of plants. Keep an eye out for any of the fresh homegrown foods you can get hold of, including:

Fruit: early/forced rhubarb, apples and pears from store.

Vegetables: asian greens, cabbage (green), chicory, endive, kale, leeks, nettle tops, parsley, parsnips, purple sprouting broccoli, sea kale, sorrel, spring greens, spring onions, swedes, wild garlic, winter varieties of lettuce.

Fish and shellfish: bass, brown crab, clams, cockles, pollack, young mackerel, mussels, rock oysters, sardines, scallops, sea trout, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game: not the top season for any meats in particular.

Cheeses: Cotherstone, Stilton. Comté, Roquefort.

I think I’ll be cooking up some bashed neeps (swedes) and wilted curly kale to serve with burgers or sausages, some noodle soup with Asian greens and shellfish, and some sprouting broccoli baked with eggs and garlic.

What are you going to cook? Do you have any favourite recipes?

Seasonal foods in September

Penny Golightly — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:42:54 +0000

September foods are gorgeous, with the end of all the summer goodies, plus the start of everything that does better in the cooler weather. It’s a very good month for fans of seafood and game.

What’s in season in September?

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

Vegetables: all salad leaves, asian greens, aubergines, broccoli, celery, chillies, chives, courgettes, cucumbers, fennel, globe artichokes, green beans, green and red cabbage, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, marrows, peppers, pumpkins and squashes, radishes, red onions, rocket, salsify and scorzonera, samphire, 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.

What are you going to cook?

I feel an apple and blackberry crumble coming on, and maybe some spicy crab cakes.