What's in Season

December

December is all about the root really. Roast them at any time - not just Sunday - with a dash of olive oil, a few unpeeled cloves of garlic (roasted garlic cloves are gorgeous squeezed out onto a potato) and a sprig or three of rosemary. They take about 40 minutes at about 190C.

Roasted veg make a great tasting side to pretty much any meat or fish, you can vary the herbs and spices to suit. A bit of paprika warms things up nicely, honey and thyme are sweet and mellow.

Also, remember that sprouts aren't just for Christmas, they make a mean side par-boiled and saute'd with butter, chestnuts and/or bacon...

Veg

Artichokes (Jerusalem) - Beetroot - Brussels Tops - Brussels Sprouts - Cabbages (red, white and various green) - Carrots - Celeriac - Celery - Chicory - Endive - Greens (spring and winter) - Kale - Leeks - Onions - Parsnips - Potatoes - Swede - Turnips - Chestnuts

Fruit

Apples (Egremont Russet - Blenheim Orange - Orleans Reinette) - Apples - Store (Cox's - Fiesta - Ashmead's Kernel - Bramley) - Clementines - Cranberries - Passion Fruit - Pears - Pineapple - Pomegranate - Rhubarb (Forced) - Satsumas - Tangerines

Meat

Goose (Wild And Farmed) - Grey Squirrel - Grouse - Hare - Partridge - Pheasant - Mallard - Turkey - Venison - Wood Pigeon

Fish & Seafood

Black Bream - Clams - Coley – Cockles - Crab (brown and spider) - Cuttlefish - Gurnard – Hake - Haddock - Langoustine - Lobster - Mackerel - Mullet (red) – Mussel – Oysters - Prawn (cold water) - Plaice - Pollack - Sardine - Scallops - Sea Bass - Sea Trout - Sole (Dover & lemon) - Signal Crayfish (freshwater) - Sprat - Whiting

Also

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Recipes

Beef, Chestnut and Guinness Stew - Bacon, Cabbage and Potatoes - Frau T's Solyanka - Basquian lemon shrimp