Reap the best of the seasons

Using almonds in this frangipane tart just one idea from book

BRING THE RHYTHMS OF the seasons into your kitchen with this timeless guide to cooking and celebrating produce, all year round.

Seasoning spans the four seasons of the year, with insights into over 50 vegetables and fruits.

Award-winning food writer Angela Clutton explores their seasonality, offering tips on shopping and storing, countless ways to use them, flavour partners and how to minimise waste.

This book illustrates how embracing seasonality is about understanding the cycles of the land and the climate — even, or especially, as it changes — and how they have the ability to make things taste the best possible versions of themselves.

FIG, CHOCOLATE and PECAN FRANGIPANE TART

Frangipane is more usually made with almonds, but switching for pecans gives a gorgeously warming, toffee-esque flavour and texture that is perfect with the chocolate and figs. This tart is dense and rich. Fabulously so. All you’ll need with it is a spoonful of lush cream, yoghurt or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

For the pastry

270g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting pinch of salt

1 orange

150g cold butter

For the frangipane

200g pecans

85g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids

3 star anise

200g butter, at room temperature 100g golden caster (superfine) sugar 100g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

25g plain (all-purpose) flour

1/2 tsp baking powder pinch of salt about 200g ripe figs icing sugar, for dusting 22–23cm loose-bottomed tart tin

Method

First, make the pastry: Sift the flour with the salt into a mixing bowl. Grate in the zest of the orange. Dice the butter, add to the bowl and mix into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.