Seasonal Autumn Treats –Â October is the month of plentiful food and drink because so much is in season. Here are two exciting autumnal recipes.
Our markets and shops are full of seasonal offers this month and gardens and allotments have a variety of produce at the peak of their delicious ripeness, and there are so many excellent wines that compliment autumnal dishes perfectly.
Squash, Pumpkin and Mushroom Risotto
After the lighter meals of summer, we are probably ready for some comfort food and risotto is the ultimate comfort food, and it allows you to use a variety of ingredients. Because gardens and shops are full of pumpkins and squashes, why not build your risotto around one or the other, or both! And you can even use the hollowed-out flesh for your Halloween lanterns!
Chop and fry an onion in plenty of olive oil and some butter. Take some diced pumpkin and/or squash and add to the large pan.
Chop some mushrooms, any mushrooms – button, field, shitake – and add to the pan. Cook thoroughly. Take five hundred grammes of pudding rice, which is cheaper and cooks a little quicker than the more traditional arborio variety. Stir into the vegetable, coating every grain until it looks translucent. Add half a bottle of white wine and a good amount of vegetable stock.
Cook gently for about forty minutes, stirring regularly until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked. Grate in some hard cheese. I like to use vegan cheese. Serve with a green leaf salad and more cheese.
Blackberry Pomme Tarte Tatin
This is a delicious pudding. Take an oven proof dish and butter well. Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar in. Take some apples, eating apples work best because they retain their shape. Halve and core the apples. Slice into segments and arrange them over the sugar in a petal formation.
Take some washed blackberries and distribute them over the apples. Take some bought puff pastry, you could also make your own rough puff pastry very easily if you have the time. Roll to about 1cm thickness.
Place over the fruit and tuck the edges under as the pastry must not overlap the dish. Fork the pastry all over. Wash with milk or egg. Bake in a hot oven until the pastry is a deep golden brown. Serve piping hot with crème fraiche or ice cream.
These are two of my favourite exciting autumnal recipe suggestions and are meals that are meant to be shared with good friends and family with a delicious glass of wine.
By Rob Bullock robbullockauthor.blogspot.com
