WHAT'S IN SEASON: AUTUMN

Since the Autumn Equinox and the promise of a change in season, it’s time to look ahead at what the next couple of months have to offer.

Tuning into what’s in season, even if we can’t necessarily eat like that all the time, is another tool to help us live in the here and now, cultivating awareness of our environment and time passing in a more tangible way than just the days on a calendar.

After my autumn cleanse and reset (as with all cleanse and resets), I take a slow transition out with soups and stews — but it being autumn, I will probably stay like this for the most part until spring/summer 2022 (wow, I sound like a fashion collection…).

So I’m saying goodbye to salads and raw food — save for the odd piece of ripe fruit and fresh green pesto/chutney condiments, and instead (even more that usual) will be feasting on hearty, warming soups and stews made with plenty of seasonal veg — which at this time of year includes lots of super satisfying and nutritious root veg.

It’s a major time of harvest, reaping the rewards of an intense period of growing in the height of our sunshine and storing the food to last us through winter. This is also a time for celebration — harvest festivals have happened around the world for centuries, including here in the UK. They are a time to give thanks for the food reaped from the land and share it with our communities. One such crop that is a firm favourite in Britain is apples, and right now ‘tis the season to be picking them, so make sure to check out my blog post on this wonderful fruit that grows abundantly here in the UK.

Eating seasonally is important, as nature is quite literally telling us what our bodies need in order to stay in balance, not to mention it’s better for the environment. I recently shared what was in season for summer, and I wanted to bring you a guide for autumn too so that you can tweak your favourite recipes and maybe try a few new ones. Interesting foods you may not yet have tried or haven’t tried in a while might be bilberries (swap them in for blueberries in the buckwheat fermented pancakes), marrow (or overgrown courgettes) for the courgette and rice dish — swapping the avocado for mushrooms, and try celeriac roasted or mashed where you’d usually use potatoes. Sorrel is an interesting herb (looks like spinach) slightly sour in taste it would be great to add tang to pestos — not one to easily find at supermarkets or even farmers markets so if you don’t know anyone growing this herb then think about it for your window box for next year as its very easy to grow.

WHAT’S IN SEASON IN THE UK

VEG

artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, broccoli, butternut squash, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, chillies, fennel, garlic, horseradish, jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, marrow, onion, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin, purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, rocket, runner beans, salsify, shallots, spinach, swede, sweetcorn, tomatoes, truffles, turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms

FRUIT

apples, bilberries, blackberries, clementines, elderberries, figs, grapes, mandarins, pears, quince

HERBS

chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, sorrel, thyme

NUTS

almonds, brazil nuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts

SEASONAL RECIPES

APPLES

Breakfast Spiced Apples

BEETROOT

Candy Beets

Cumin Beetroot Soup