Hints and tips for autumn/winter
by Oxforddining chef Graham Corbett

Now the nights are drawing in and the temperature has dropped, the shorts are packed away and the thermals are seeing the light of day again, our minds turn towards comforting things like casseroles Sunday roasts and planning next years holiday.

If the summer was the time of plenty, it doesn’t mean that winter is the time of few.

There is still plenty of choice around, all the root vegetables, pumpkin and squashes,

the greens like: sprouts, spinach Savoy cabbage, exotic sounding Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac, cardoons to name but a few. Most of these will make fabulous soups, which are big and full of flavour. Eat them with some fresh baked bread for a filling lunch time meal.

Winter is also a good time for native fish, take the little old mussel, not so little in the winter, big and plump as are King scallops, you get more meat for your pound. John Dory and cod are also at their best and don’t forget fresh water fish like pike although this needs a little more attention than most fish.

Autumn and winter are synonymous with game, their rich, powerful flavours go so well with the cold weather, and they warm you from inside. When roasting game don’t over cook it, it will be dry, tough and tasteless, game is best eaten pink, unless you are braising it, then cook it slow and long and the flavours will be intense and heart warming.

When cooking stews and casseroles if you marinate them, which will flavour and tenderise the meat be sure to use the best quality ingredients you can afford, such as the wine, if you wouldn’t drink it don’t cook with it. Cheap wine is like vinegar and will impart a sour flavour into the meat. Marinate for at least 24 hrs and drain for several hrs, before you seal and brown the meat. If it isn’t drained properly you will boil the meat instead of browning it. Cook stews and casseroles long and slow, to fast and the sinews and tendons will contract and the meat will be tough, slow and they relax, try to cook around 80*c. Cook them the day before and the flavours will improve.

Remember there is plenty of choice out there, you just need to be a little more organised in your menu planning, you can’t leave things to the last minute like in the summer. Stay away from vegetables you would associate with summer because they have been grown the other side of the world, picked several days ago, flown 1000s of miles and sat in a distribution warehouse for another couple of days, all before they get to your supermarket shelves. Think British.

©2003 oxforddining