January. Not my favourite month, but one that we must get out of the way in order to crack properly into my favourite season - spring. Technically January is only the second month of winter, how can this be so? It feels like winter gets longer every year and the other seasons have to shrink to compensate. But this does mean good things for food on our tables. Thank goodness for the silver lining!
So here are my January fruit and veg favourites and some ideas I have for them...
Brussels Sprouts - Sprouts for me demand to be steamed, severed with bacon, black pepper and butter. Don't over cook them, don't boil them, don't be mean to them! And don't make anyone who really hates the taste eat them , it's not their fault that they are genetically predispose
Brussels Tops - these are a new addition to my list of tasty things, but I have found them so hard to come across. Once you get them they're lovely simply pan sautéed with onions and a little butter.
Cabbages - I love cabbage. I can eat it raw and it's exceptionally marvellous with onions, and carrots in a slaw of sorts. Grate it in the food processor and give it a happy dose of mayonnaise, salad cream, black pepper and lemon juice and I'm yours.
Celery - you might have noticed, but I sneak this into everything. It goes in stews, in sauces, in soup, in anything you can think of really! I do not however like it raw, not at all. No thank you. Leeks - This is another food that I love and I think I love it most done simply, wither roasted in with my chicken parcels, in risotto or in a good old fashioned leek and potato soup. Delicious and warming - perfect for this weather!
Onions - I'm not sure what I'd do without onions. I am very glad that they are abundant all year around! The uses for an onion are limiltess - there will be a Top Five coming on them in the near future.
Parsnips - Tasty, but slightly odd in texture parsnips make a lovely addition to mask if you take the woody stalk out, and they are delicious roast in the oven with honey and parmesan cheese (par boil them first so the cheese doesn't burn away to nothing in the time they take to roast).
Pears - A fruit! Finally! I am not the biggest fan of pears as they can be so inconvenient. If bought from the supermarket I find that they are rock solid for days then all of a sudden they are perfect for one single day. This is good argument to buy them on a more one by one basis in the green grocers, or to peel and cook them all and eat them with rice pudding. Immediately.
Potatoes - Tatties are one of those vegetables that keep so well there is no reason not to have good ones all year round, and to that effect I think they also merit their own Top Five. Keep your (potato) eyes peeled.
Rhubarb - Here we have one of my favourite things. I love it. Stewed with ginger and brown sugar and served in porridge, rice pudding, custard, yoghurt or a spoon and all is well with the world. It's also an easy way to make a crumble happen, or a cobbler, or a pie..
Turnips - Neeps. Another thing I love but unlike celery I prefer neeps raw. Peeled, mashed and added in with other root vegetables to make a 'companion mash' (there's an old phrase for you) it makes a few potatoes go a lot further, and if you're looking to cut down on your calories then reducing the potato to other veg ratio does your waist line a lot of favours.
And there we go, tasty things to do with tasty things! I will add more as I come across amazing ideas, or things crawl out of by brain - you never know! Enjoy your January, if at all possible.
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