Harvest time
Autumn is the season of change and provides a bountiful menu
Down here in Central Otago, there’s a sense of magic in the air at this time of year. The days parade by, blue-skied and breathless and, at an ever-quickening pace the landscape turns to wildfire. It’s so spectacular this crescendo of colour, and so fleeting. We know that at any minute a biting storm will crash in from the Antarctic and blow it all away.
In the garden, plants race to ripen and set their seed, knowing that winter is waiting on the sidelines with its icy frosts, collapsing tender crops to mush.
The crispness of the air, the rustle of falling leaves and the honking calls of flocks of gathering migratory geese out on the lake remind me that I must hurry to pick all the frost-tender vegetables and store the pumpkins. Soon, suddenly, it will be over, the birds will be gone, the leaves will be gone and the chilling blasts of winter will render the landscape mute.
Inside, the fire is roaring and my kitchen benches are covered with an assortment of peppers, chillies, eggplants and tomatoes (tomatoes will ripen inside as long as they are no longer bright green and have just started to turn colour). There are buckets of apples and pears and a fridge full of the last late peaches. It’s so satisfying this harvesting time, and my squirrel instincts are assuaged.
The rhythm of the seasons is something I love about living in the country, a visceral sense of being at one with the cycles of nature. While every season brings its rewards, autumn, more than any other, is when I feel oh-so-lucky to be a cook. There’s a depth of flavour to the harvests at this time of year that reflects a full season’s growth – fat, heavy eggplants, bright red peppers and ripe, sweet tomatoes demand attention, to stew or braise, grill or roast.
For as long as mankind has grown and farmed, this time of year has signalled a moment to stop and reflect, taking in the marvel of nature that each year produces the food we need to survive and thrive, and celebrating the harvests safely stored.
As nature’s wheel turns another cog, it’s time for our own harvest festival celebrations. Light the fire, pour a glass of pinot and savour the last golden days of autumn over a harvest feast shared around the table.