Food & Drink
Put autumn produce on the menu, and share what you don’t need with friends and neighbours
Neil Forbes cooks with autumn produce, plus Rose Murray Brown on the best wines of Napa Valley
Just the other day I saw a door handle with some herbs hanging from it, left for the lucky home owner. What a delight it must be to find a sweet-smelling bunch of thyme and rosemary waiting for you to pop into a pot of stew or to flavour a soup. We have had apples and rhubarb left on our doorstep in the past, and I’ve seen posts on social media from people with a surplus of food which they offer to anyone who wants or needs it.
I like to plant my seeds in early summer and always grow far too many courgette seedlings, so I give a few away to neighbours. I’ve just harvested my apples and pears and am astonished by how many huge conference pears and plump bramley apples my little trees produce. At home there’s only so much chutney, crumbles and pies we can make and eat, so I take the surplus to Cafe St Honoré to use on the menu, and give some to staff so they can enjoy a crumble on a Sunday night.
With the start of game season, mushrooms in abundance and fruit and veg being harvested, this is a wonderful time of year. So much is ready and needs to be picked and eaten, or preserved for the long winter months ahead. I like the idea of a barter system where we all swap what we have for other things with no middleman. What a fabulous way to meet your neighbours and integrate into the community.
It’s now time to get the garden ready for the frosty days ahead, and to think about what we’ll be growing and eating next season.
Partridge with black pudding, kale, mushrooms and brambles
I adore partridge, and this is a lovely dish to eat. It’s also beautiful to look at as the autumn colours are so wonderful. Be careful to not overcook the breasts, and give the legs a longer cook or they can be chewy and tough. This dish is brought together with the addition of the brambles and black pudding.
Serves two
50ml duck fat
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 big sprig of thyme
1 oven-ready partridge, legs removed 1 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil good salt and pepper a glass of Madeira
250ml chicken stock a few sage leaves a small handful of brambles a small handful of wild mushrooms, or buttons would do
2 slices black pudding
2 knobs butter
1 handful kale, blanched in boiling salted water, refreshed in cold water
1 Heat the duck fat in a frying pan on the hob and add the garlic and half the thyme. Then add the partridge legs and a pinch of salt and cook for 1 hour. Set to one side in the oil. 2 Heat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4. 3 In a clean oven-proof frying pan, heat half the oil and sear the crown of partridge. Season with salt and pepper and add the remaining thyme. Add a spoonful of the duck fat from the leg pan and turn the crown in the hot fat, before placing the pan in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the crown from the pan and leave to rest in a warm place.
4 Add the Madeira to the pan from the oven and deglaze on a hot hob for 4 to 5 minutes. Then add the chicken stock and the sage leaves and reduce by three quarters. While it’s reducing, add any juices from the resting crown. Once reduced, add the brambles.
5 Add the remaining oil to a fresh pan and fry the mushrooms and black pudding at a high heat for 2 to 3 minutes each side. Remove the mushrooms and black pudding and add the butter to same pan with the kale. Season and stir in a spoonful of duck fat from the legs.
6 To serve, place the kale in the centre of a plate and top with a piece of black pudding. Remove the breasts from the bone of the crown, and place on top of the black pudding with the confited leg.
7 Arrange the mushrooms and brambles around the edge of the plate, trickling the sauce over them. Garnish with a few sage leaves.
Mushroom and tarragon soup
On a chilly day we all need a simple yet delicious bowl of soup to warm us up. Mushroom and tarragon go so well together and it’s a great way to use up mushrooms that are past their best. I blitz the soup in a liquidiser, but there’s no need to pass it through a sieve, as the texture is lovely.
Serves four
2 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 knob of butter
400g button mushrooms, lightly rinsed and dried, then roughly chopped good salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp Arran mustard
50ml double cream
1 tbsp roughly chopped tarragon
1 Heat the oil in a large pot on the hob and fry the onions for a few minutes. Turn down the heat and soften them for 8 to 10 minutes before adding the garlic.
2 Add the butter and the mushrooms. Stir well and season. Add enough boiling water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in the mustard, cream and tarragon before blitzing in a liquidiser.
3 Serve piping hot with crusty bread or a slice of Welsh rarebit.
Apple tart tatin
This is an absolutely perfect way to use up apples. A wonderfully classic French dish that’s very popular when it’s on the menu at Cafe. It is a little tricky, but I do recommend making your own pastry. The flavour will be so much better than shop bought.