october notes
Good Food's Miriam Nice shares top tips to shop, cook and eat the best of the season
When I think of October my mind wanders straight to thoughts of apples. The fresh apple harvest, apple tasting days (see right) and the promise of toffee apples when Bonfire Night comes around. When I was a student, I remember spending the day at Borough Market in London watching the October Plenty procession, which informed my research for my dissertation about apples and their symbolic duality. Both as a 'forbidden fruit' – although now it's thought to have been quince – and a device to promote healthy eating ('an apple a day…'). Even now it’s contrast that inspires my cooking, particularly in autumn. At its most simple, steaming bowls of soup served with wedges of cheese on toast, chilled butter on jacket potatoes or a scoop of vanilla ice cream under a dense square of hot sticky toffee pudding.
In this new series, I’ll be dishing up some of my favourite ideas with some of our perhaps less used seasonal produce (although apples still feature). Horseradish is at its best right now bringing some fire to your roasts, and kohlrabi – an often-forgotten brassica is beautiful in an autumnal salad.
kale
You can find a variety of plants under the umbrella term 'kale'. Anything from the long and undulating greeny-blue leaves of cavolo nero to the scrunchy scouring-pad-like curly kale. You can even get the hybrid kalettes which sadly isn’t a vegan pop band, but kale crossed with Brussels sprouts.
Roasted kale
Wash 150-200g kale and tear off any woody stems. Scrunch (or massage) the leaves in your hands as if to squeeze out every last drop of water from a kitchen sponge – this makes it much less tough. Rip any larger leaves into small pieces. Drizzle with 3 tbsp olive oil, toss it once more, then season well. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 until the ends are shatteringly crisp and starting to char. Serve over something saucy like soft polenta, a creamy coconut curry or simply as an alternative to crisps while watching a film. Serves 4-6.
horseradish
Horseradish root looks a bit odd, like a large, slightly darker and thinner parsnip. You don’t need much for a decent batch of horseradish sauce, but the fresh stuff doesn’t keep, so grate all of it and freeze what you don’t use immediately. It’s eye-stinging work, so open the windows before you start or better still, finely chop it in a food processor if you have one, with a splash of water to help the blade go around.
Homemade horseradish sauce
Mix 1 tbsp coarsely grated horseradish root with 4 tbsp double cream and 4 tbsp crème fraîche. Add 2 tsp sherry vinegar and season to taste. To get the best flavour and texture, chill the sauce in the fridge overnight. Serves 4-6.
quince
A popular use for quince (known as quince paste, quince cheese or membrillo) is as a sweet/sharp jelly served with hard cheeses. I hope one day I'll be more organised and make batches every year or stuff the freezer with pre-baked chunks; but it’s such a short season
I often miss the boat. To make your own, see bbcgoodfood.com for a recipe. However, baking quince is an easy way to try it. Cutting into a raw quince you may be surprised to find the flesh is white, not red as you would expect having tried membrillo. The chemical compounds in the fruit cause them to change colour when heated.
Baked quince
Slice 2 large quinces (or 1 quince and 1 Bramley apple), lay them in a buttered ovenproof dish and pour over 100ml water, 1 tsp ground cardamom and 50g demerara sugar. Bake for 45 mins at 190C/170C fan/gas 5 or until tender (stirring occasionally to cook evenly). Add 1/2 tsp rosewater and top with puff pastry or a crumble topping and bake for a further 25-30mins. Serves 4-6.
kohlrabi
Light green with tendril-like branches, the kohlrabi looks a bit alien-like. Taste-wise, it’s a cross between broccoli and radish. Serving it raw allows the crisp texture to shine through, but it does also roast well. The leaves are edible too – cook as you would spinach or cabbage. The only part of the kohlrabi I discard is the tough outer skin and shoots.
Kohlrabi & apple salad
Mix together 1 peeled and finely sliced kohlrabi, 1 cored and finely sliced green apple and spread out on a serving plate. Pour over juice 1 lemon and toss together. Scatter over 50g toasted hazelnuts, 40-50g finely sliced hard goat's cheese (or parmesan shavings) and 1 tbsp cress. Season well and drizzle with 11/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately with crusty bread. Serves 4.
For more seasonal recipes, visit bbcgoodfood.com