Eat the Seasons October

October

October brings with it thoughts of hearty stews, bubbling crumbles, satisfying soups and rich risottos. The month kicks off with World Vegetarian Day on the first – and there’s plenty of seasonal fruit and veg to harvest or buy to celebrate.

For a simple and delicious roasted veg traybake, throw evenly cut up courgettes, cauliflower, beetroot, carrots, peppers and shallots into a baking tray, toss in oil, garlic, salt, pepper and fresh thyme, and roast at 200C for around 45 minutes, turning over halfway through.

If you aren’t a fruit or veg gardener, you can still pick up plenty of October’s luscious autumnal produce from suppliers on our patch.

Choose from heaps of fresh veggies at The Fruit Basket in Stubbington, or order a bespoke box from Titchfield-based Boxxfresh, to get the freshest vegetables, herbs, salads and fruits delivered straight to your door.

Sausages are never out of season and October is the perfect month to cosy up with a comforting sausage casserole. Pick up bangers in a dazzling array of flavours from beef, horseradish and wild mushroom to organic pork and fennel at The Twells Tradition in Portchester.

Or try out The Considerate Carnivore in Locks Heath. The new butcher and deli offers grass-fed, free range British meat, including a great selection of hand tied sausages. Flavours include plain pork, herbs de Provence, honey and whole grain mustard and traditional Cumberland.

Or for a warming curry to mark National Curry Week (October 3-9), pick up either a belly or shoulder of pork for a traditional pork vindaloo. See the recipe below!

And don’t forget we’re now in pumpkin season. Once you’ve hollowed yours out into terrifying Jack O’Lanterns for Halloween at the end of the month, take the orange flesh and turn it into a delicious soup or pie, perfect for this bewitching time of year.

Meat 

Beef, duck, goose, grouse, guinea fowl, pheasant, partridge, venison, wood pigeon, autumn lamb

Fruit

Blueberries, figs, raspberries, plums, damsons, apples and pears

Vegetables

Mushrooms, carrots, runner beans, cabbage, lettuce, sweetcorn, peppers, chillies, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, cauliflower, fennel, chard, courgettes and summer squash

Fish

Cod, crab, haddock, shrimp, whelks, pollack, monkfish, lemon sole, mackerel, herring, sea bass, clams, halibut, hake and squid

Recipe for the month

Traditional Goan pork vindaloo

To help us celebrate National Curry Week, Glyn of The Cooking Cobbler has curated this recipe for a delicious and traditional Goan pork vindaloo!

With a spicy tang that’ll leave your tastebuds tingling for more, this fragrant curry pairs perfectly with a pile of steaming rice and a few naans to soak up the sauce.

Ingredients

Two onions, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons of ghee

A thumb of ginger, finely chopped

2 whole heads of garlic

5 green chillies

1 scotch bonnet chilli

Coriander stalks

Kashmiri chilli powder

Curry powder

Turmeric

Cubed and salted pork (shoulder, belly or cheek works best)

Half a cub of white vinegar

A teaspoon of hot mango pickle

A tin of chopped tomatoes

Whole spices

Bay leaf

Coriander

Nigella

Fennel

Cumin seeds

Cloves

Peppercorns

Cassia bark (cinnamon)

Cardamon pods

Star anise

Method

Start by taking your whole spices and fry these off in 2 tablespoons of ghee for 30 seconds. Then add your chopped onions and slowly brown for about 15 minutes on medium heat until they turn golden.

Next add your ginger, garlic, green chillies, scotch bonnet chilli and coriander stalks – frying them all until the rawness has gone.

Then add 2 heaped teaspoons of Kashmiri chilli powder, 2 of mixed curry powder and one turmeric (you can add a small amount of hot water if it becomes too dry) and cook out the raw spices.

Next, add your pork and mix through your masala to coat the meat

Then add roughly half a cup of white vinegar and a teaspoon of hot mango pickle and cook until the smell of the vinegar disappears. Add your tin of chopped tomatoes and stir in again. You can add more hot water if your sauce has thickened too quick.

Then, pop your lid on the pot and cook in a 160°c oven for about 2 hours. You can do this on the hob if you wish, but I prefer to put my feet up and watch a film while it’s cooking!

After the two hours is up remove from the oven and return to the hob on a low flame, add another two tablespoons of vinegar, juice of a lemon, a teaspoon of English mustard, a good pinch of methi, salt to taste, a tablespoon of mango chutney for a slight sweetness, chopped coriander and you’re done.

Just check the meat breaks apart easily and if you want more sauce add some base gravy or a tin of carrot and coriander soup.