Serving fall’s bounty
The arrival of autumn moves chef Erin Henry to reflect on her favourite comfort foods and create new recipes inspired by them
Chef Erin Henry has a soft spot in her heart for autumn vegetables.
“I get so nostalgic at this time of the year for the food I grew up with,” says Henry, crumbling feta cheese over a platter of grilled corn at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown.
Each September without fail, her thoughts turn to the comfort foods of her childhood, dishes like scalloped potatoes, baked apples, corn on the cob and Hodge Podge, made from fresh garden vegetables and lots of cream.
“It’s a family favourite,” says Henry, who grew up on a farm in Fredericton, N.B., tending vegetable gardens and pigs, chickens, geese and goats, and helping her family make cheeses, sausages and pickles.
So, when The Guardian asked her to create some recipes inspired by her favourite fall veggies, she got excited.
“It’s fun. Today, we’re taking the foods that we had as kids and interpreting them in a way that honours the memory,” says Henry, who is putting the finishing touches on Beet, Apple and Blue Cheese Salad with Honeyed Walnuts and Mexican Grilled Corn.
In addition to flavours, the head chef of Holland College’s Culinary Bootcamps is inspired by fall colours.
“The reds, yellows and greens. This time of year on P.E.I. are so many beautiful, beautiful vegetables to choose from.”
When she’s finished, she places the foods together, choosing their placement with the care of an artist.
In the recipe for Beet, Apple and Blue Cheese Salad with Honeyed Walnuts, her use of reds and greens — complementary colours — makes everything on the plate seem to vibrate.
In contrast, in the Mexican Grilled Corn, sprinkles of cilantro and slices of lime with the corn create an analogous or harmonious colour scheme.
“But, obviously, this will taste great without the green on top if you want to make things simple,” laughs Henry.
There are other reasons she enjoys fall produce.
“You have all the bounty of summer produce to work with. And you have the flavours of fall.”
There are also seasonal cooking methods.
“In the spring, you just want the flavour of vegetables, themselves, so you steam them. But in the fall, there are so many cooking methods to work with. Vegetables can be boiled, mashed, grilled, baked or served cold. Using different cooking methods in the same dish — like the beet salad — offers different textures.
“I hope people will try these recipes.”