Food shopping doesn't get better than in mid-autumn, with its plump pumpkins and bottle green cabbages, late raspberries heavy with juice and the first of the winter greens. There are borlotti beans with their pink and white freckled pods, the last of the tomatoes and fat dumpling squash to stuff. The chard, with stems the colour of boiled sweets, is tempting, but there is cavolo nero too, with its dusky blue-green leaves. If you are not careful, you can come home with more fruit and vegetables than you know what to do with. This month we celebrate the autumn vegetable haul, the richness of the garden, allotment and market stall as the nights draw in.
Wilted chard with caramelised onions and sultanas
The mineral quality of chard is softened with sweet onions and fruit.
Serves 2 as a side dish
small onions 2
olive oil 2 tbsp
butter a thin slice
sultanas or raisins 3 heaped tbsp
pumpkin seeds 3 tbsp
lemon the zest of ½, finely grated
chard 4 large handfuls (about 100g)
Peel and slice the onions, and soften them in a shallow pan with the olive oil and butter. When they are starting to brown a little around the edges, add the sultanas or raisins and the pumpkin seeds and let the fruit plump up a little. Add a little salt and the lemon zest.
Wash the chard and put it into a separate pan with a very shallow film of water, cover with a lid and steam over a high heat for a minute or so. As soon as the leaves have wilted, and the colour is still bright, drain and transfer to a serving dish. Scatter over the sweet onion mixture and serve.
Stuffed dumpling squash with tomatoes and basil
Light, fresh tasting yet deeply sustaining.
Serves 4
dumpling or other small squash 4
small or cherry tomatoes 350g
olive oil 3 tbsp and a little more
dried chilli 1
haricot beans 400g can
large basil leaves 10-12
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
Slice a lid from each dumpling squash and set aside. Using a teaspoon, scoop out and discard the seeds and fibres from the centre of each squash.
Chop the tomatoes, put them in a shallow pan and let them soften with the olive oil over a moderate heat. When they are soft enough to crush with a fork, add the chilli, finely crumbled (remove the seeds for a less spicy filling), the drained and rinsed haricot beans and a little salt and black pepper. Mix well then add the whole basil leaves.
Fill each hollowed-out squash with the tomato and bean stuffing, packing them into a baking dish or roasting tin. Trickle lightly with olive oil and bake for about 1 hour till the squash is soft.
A gratin of pumpkin and borlotti beans
A resoundingly satisfying family meal.
Serves 6
small onions 3, roughly chopped
oil 5 tbsp
pumpkin or other yellow-fleshed squash 1kg (peeled and seeded weight)
borlotti beans 250g (weight before podding)
gruyere 350g
double cream 500ml
grated parmesan 30g
Warm the onions in the oil in a deep pan. Cut the pumpkin into large dice, then add to the softened onions and continue cooking till the pumpkin has coloured a little at the edges. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
Pod the borlotti and boil the beans hard for 10 minutes in unsalted water then drain. Cut the gruyere into large dice and scatter in the bottom of a large baking dish. Put the onion and pumpkin on top of the cheese, add the drained borlotti beans, then season with salt and black pepper. Pour over the cream, scatter the top with grated parmesan and bake for 35-45 minutes till the cheese has melted and the cream is bubbling around the edges.
Blue cheese mash with cavolo nero
An unashamedly buttery mash with bright green cabbage and a blue cheese and rosemary butter. Comfort food at the highest level.
Serves 4
floury potatoes 1kg
cavolo nero 100g
butter 150g
rosemary 3 sprigs
blue cheese such as Cashel Blue 150g
Peel the potatoes, cut them into large pieces and cook in lightly salted boiling water for about 20 minutes till tender. While the potatoes are cooking, remove the stems from the cavolo nero and chop them into small pieces. Shred the leaves and set aside.
When the potatoes are tender to the point of a knife, drain them and mash with 35g of the butter. Place a lid or cloth over the pan to keep them warm.
Melt 25g of the butter in a shallow pan, add the chopped stems and cook for 4-5 minutes till tender, then remove from the pan, leaving the butter behind. As the stems become tender, add the shredded leaves and cook for a couple of minutes till soft.
Melt 90g of the butter in a shallow pan, add two of the rosemary sprigs whole then warm over a low heat. Remove the leaves from the remaining rosemary sprig, chop very finely and add to the pan to warm. Once the butter starts to fizz, crumble the cheese into the pan in large pieces.
To serve, divide the potatoes between four plates, making a well in the centre of each mound, then add the cavolo nero leaves and stems. Remove the whole sprigs of rosemary from the pan and trickle the blue cheese butter over the potatoes and cabbage.
Raspberry hazelnut tartlets
Exceptionally fragile and crumbly, leave these little tartlets to cool before carefully removing them from the tins.
Makes 16
For the pastry
cold butter 150g
plain flour 150g
ground hazelnuts 100g
caster sugar 2 tbsp
egg yolk 1
For the filling
butter 180g
plain flour 50g
icing sugar 180g
ground hazelnuts 100g
egg whites 5
raspberries 100g
Make the pastry: put the butter, chopped into small pieces, into the bowl of a food processor. Add the flour and a pinch of salt then blend for a few seconds until the mixture resembles coarse, fresh breadcrumbs, then add the ground hazelnuts and sugar. Drop in the egg yolk and blend briefly until you bring the mixture together with your hand into a soft ball of dough.
Tip the dough on to a lightly floured board and pat into a thick disc, wrap in clingfilm or greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes to rest. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Lightly butter 12 shallow bun tins.
Roll the pastry out so it is about 3mm thick, then, using pastry cutters, make discs of pastry that fit the bun tins. Tuck the pastry into the bun tins, pushing it down into the sides.
Make the filling: melt the butter in a small saucepan set over a moderate heat, then watch it carefully until it becomes a deep, nutty gold. It will burn easily, so keep your eye on it, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Sieve the flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl then add the ground hazelnuts. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl to a soft, almost sloppy foam – they should be barely able to stand up. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients then add the egg whites and the melted butter, mixing lightly but thoroughly, then pour into the tins.
Add the raspberries, crushing lightly with your fingers so they bleed juice into the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until risen and golden, remove from the oven, then leave until almost cool before removing from the tins to a wire rack with a palette knife.
