Autumn is an ideal season for cooking, with milder temperatures and nature providing us with a wealth of produce. Markets are adorned with prized products: mushrooms, game, chestnuts, and new wine. It is also the perfect time to make preserves for winter. Traditionally, our grandmothers would prepare delicious homemade jams.
Welcoming Autumn
Once again at La Laguna Ahora, we welcome a change of season as we bid farewell to summer. The evenings are starting to get chilly, especially at night, making hearty dishes more appealing for dinners and cloudy days. We crave warm, substantial spoon dishes that help to warm the body. However, during the day, it remains warm, and lighter dishes are still desirable.
Time for Preserves
Now is the time to make preserves and freeze surplus produce to stock up for the year ahead. We fully enter the realm of chestnuts, cabbages, and cauliflowers. The first spinach, watercress, and celery are beginning to sprout, and soon we will have quinces, chestnuts, pomegranates, and the first citrus fruits to help us avoid catching colds in winter. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the last pears and the reinetas apples from Esperanza.
Hearty Meals Await
The season for meats is upon us, which will make our stews and casseroles heartier on rainy, cold days. We enter the time of black pig, making it a good moment to enjoy it in its various forms. Soon we will be able to create succulent pâtés and sausages from this meat, but more chilly weather is needed for that. For now, we can start tasting the hams before Christmas arrives.
Adapting Our Diet
As you can see, changes in our pantry will reflect in our cooking; however, this should not mean we abandon the good habits of summer, such as an abundance of salads and fish. Instead, we will complement our diet with more elaborate spoon dishes, adapting to the natural cycle.
Wishing you a pleasant autumn.
