Now that autumn is in full swing, my thoughts have turned to game, wild mushrooms and chestnuts. This year has been excellent for sweet chestnuts as the trees fruit best after a cold winter and we certainly had that last year. Delicious on their own when roasted over an open fire, chestnuts also marry brilliantly with squashes of all varieties and our pumpkin and chestnut ravioli is going down a storm in the restaurant. They also add a kick of flavour to parsnips or Brussels sprouts and of course are a must with the Christmas turkey or goose.
November is a great time to try wild mushrooms and after a slow, dry start to the season, the recent rain has brought them back to life. Ceps, wood hedgehogs, blewits and morels are all in abundance and I’m busy thinking of different dishes to showcase them over the coming months. Game goes particularly well with wild mushrooms and in September I was lucky enough to take part in our recent Harbour & Jones farm trip to Denham Estate venison farm in Suffolk. Click on the link to read more. The venison belly rolled with venison sausage meat that I brought back with me was not a cut that I would usually buy, but I was surprised at how delicious it was, simply slow roasted on a bed of red onions and thyme.
As the days get shorter and the weather turns colder, this is great excuse to indulge in the occasional pudding and there are some truly fabulous traditional recipes in this country. Whether it is sticky toffee pud, steamed syrup sponge, jam roly poly or damson cobbler, the British are top of the tree for some seriously decadent treats to cheer you on a cold gloomy November day.
