It’s September! The season is slowly starting to turn, and we’re heading into the final days of summer. September is a month full of a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables, so here’s a pick of some of the seasonal produce that are currently at their best!
Butternut squash
A wonderful and versatile winter vegetable. Butternut squash can be used in so many ways, and makes for some truly lovely (and colourful) autumnal dishes!
Recipe ideas: butternut squash soup, honey roasted butternut squash, butternut squash and chickpea curry.
Leek
Leek and potato soup, anyone? Like garlic and onion, leeks are a member of the allium family. They’re versatile, distinctive, and aromatic – and they’re in season!
There are so many ways to use leeks, whether steamed, fried, or blended into soups – just remember to wash them thoroughly before eating, as soil tends to get trapped between the leaves.
Recipe ideas: pea and leek superberen tart; leek, parsley and cheddar mash; creamy vegan potato leek soup.
Apples
Though apples are available year-round in the supermarkets, nothing quite beats the taste of the seasonal varieties. September’s the time for mid-season apples, which means the legendary Cox is now in season, so it’s a great time to start picking them up!
Recipe ideas: fried Cox apples with cinnamon sugar, gluten-free apple cake.
Pears
Sweet, juicy, lovely and fresh. There are few things quite as refreshing as a perfectly ripe pear. They’re rich in folate, vitamin C, copper, and potassium, and there are hundreds of varieties grown throughout the world (the most common types in the UK include Conference, Comice, and Concorde).
Recipe ideas: slow-cooked gingered pears, flourless chocolate and pear cake.
Watercress
We talked about watercress in our April post, but as September is its final month of seasonality we thought we’d give it another mention. After all, it’s such a powerhouse of flavour and nutrition that we couldn’t miss an opportunity to talk about it one more time!
Recipe ideas: Watercress, Mango, & Pineapple Smoothie.
Kale
Kale is a truly wonderful seasonal vegetable, not only because it’s colourful, tasty, and nutritious, but also because it’s one of the relatively few green veggies that’s abundant in the colder months of the year, making it a great option for those who are more conscious about eating seasonal all-year round.
Recipe ideas: creamy Tuscan white bean and kale soup, kale pesto.
Eating seasonal
For more information on seasonal eating, you can take a look at these fantastic resources: Eat The Seasons (a wonderfully simple website with week-to-week updates on what’s in season in the uk), and Eat Seasonably (another simple and informative resource, featuring a brilliant seasonal food wheel).