October is a generous month for cooks. Apples are still coming in, pumpkins and squash are piled high, and the first chilly evenings make a bubbling casserole feel like exactly the right thing for supper. Here in Scotland, game comes into its own, while across Ireland, England and Wales, many of the same autumn ingredients are finding their way into kitchens. What is available will vary with the weather and where you shop, but there is plenty to enjoy wherever you are.
From the Land
Squash is one of October’s most useful ingredients. Roast it in wedges with a little oil and thyme, blend it into soup, or add it to a tray of sausages and red onions. There is no need to peel varieties such as butternut squash before roasting if the skin is tender enough for your liking; for soup, you can simply scoop the flesh away afterwards.
Apples are lovely in cakes and crumbles, of course, but they are just as good alongside pork, stirred into a red cabbage braise or cooked down into a sharp sauce for game. Kale welcomes a little butter and lemon, while wild mushrooms, where safely sourced, make a fine topping for toast or a rich addition to a pie.
Look for:
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Pumpkins and squash
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Apples
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Pears
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Kale
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Sloes
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Wild mushrooms where available
Game and Meat
Pheasant season opens on 1 October, joining partridge, grouse and venison on many game counters. If you have never cooked game before, start with a casserole. Gentle cooking with onions, mushrooms, stock and a little cider or wine makes an inviting autumn supper. Your butcher can advise on the best cut and cooking time.
Venison is especially good with the flavours of the season: mushrooms, juniper, red wine, apples and slow cooked red cabbage. Pheasant or partridge can be served with buttery mash and a little fruit in the sauce. For a simpler meal, sausages roasted with squash and apples bring much the same autumn comfort to the table.
Look for:
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Pheasant
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Partridge
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Grouse
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Venison
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Locally reared pork and sausages
From the Sea
October’s catch depends on the coast, the weather and the boats that have been out. A fishmonger might have brown crab, mussels, scallops, haddock or hake, along with other local fish that deserve a place at the table. Mussels make an easy supper with leeks, cider and cream; white fish can be baked over sliced potatoes and onions; and a little crab turns a simple risotto or bowl of rice into something special.
When buying seafood, ask where it was caught or farmed and how it was harvested. Those details matter particularly for scallops, and current guidance can change from one fishery to another.
Ask about:
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Brown crab
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Mussels
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Oysters
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Scallops
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Haddock
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Hake
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Locally landed white fish
Serves 4
Roast 800g peeled and cubed squash with one quartered onion and two chopped apples at 200°C conventional / 180°C fan for about 30–40 minutes, until tender and beginning to colour.
Tip everything into a saucepan with a thumb sized piece of grated ginger and about 750ml vegetable or chicken stock.
Simmer for 10 minutes, then blend until smooth.
Add more stock if you prefer a lighter soup, and finish with salt, pepper and a spoonful of yoghurt or cream.
A few toasted pumpkin seeds and warm cheese scones turn it into a very good lunch.
Roast squash, apple and ginger soup
Pheasant, mushroom and cider casserole
Serves 4
Brown 4 pheasant legs in a little oil in a casserole dish, then lift them out. Soften 2 sliced onions in the same pan, add 250g sliced mushrooms and cook until their moisture has evaporated. Stir in 1 tablespoon plain flour, then gradually add 300ml dry cider and 300ml chicken stock. Return the pheasant to the pan with a few sprigs of thyme. Cover and cook at 160°C conventional / 140°C fan for about 1½–2 hours, until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender. Check occasionally and add a splash of stock if needed.
Season to taste and serve with creamy mashed potatoes and kale. If using pheasant breast instead, ask your butcher for advice on a shorter cooking method; it will dry out during a long braise.
Serves 2 as a main course
Clean 1kg live mussels, removing their beards and discarding any with broken shells. Tap any open mussels; discard those that do not close.
Soften 2 finely sliced leeks in 25g butter in a large lidded pan.
Add 150ml dry cider, bring to a boil, then add the mussels.
Cover and cook for 4–6 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice, until the shells have opened. Discard any that remain closed.
Stir through 2 tablespoons double cream and a handful of chopped parsley. Serve immediately with bread for the juices.
Mussels with leeks and cider
An October kitchen project: sloe gin
There is something satisfying about putting a jar away now and bringing it out in winter.
Sloes are traditionally picked after the first frost, but if ripe fruit is ready sooner, a night in the freezer does the same job of splitting the skins.
For a small batch, put 500g washed sloes, 250g sugar and 700ml gin into a clean, sealable jar. Shake gently, store somewhere cool and dark, and turn the jar every few days until the sugar has dissolved. Taste after six to eight weeks; leave it longer if you prefer a rounder flavour, then strain and bottle.
An October batch can be enjoyed this Christmas.
If you would rather bake than make gin, use the season’s apples for a crumble, a spiced brown sugar apple cake or a tray of little apple and oat muffins.
October gives us plenty of reasons to put the kettle on and invite someone to pull up a chair.