GO BEYOND FOUR SEASONS

PEAK SEASON BOX

Our Sourcing Team have selected the 9-10 varieties tasting their best right now. From familiar favourites to lesser known ones, these are our picks this week.

Coll de Dama Figs – Lleida, Spain
Concorde Pear – Sussex, UK
Black Muscat Grapes – Moissac, France
Delica Pumpkin – Lombardy, Italy
Pink Fir Potato – Kent & Cornwall, UK
Kalette Tops – Pembrokeshire, UK
Purple Carrot – Dunkirk, France
Butterhead Lettuce – France
Blue Meat Radish – Dunkirk, France
UK Heirloom Tomatoes – Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Kent & Hampshire, UK

SAVOURING THE SEASON:
pumpkins

After the hottest summer on record in both the UK and Italy, Autumn’s approach seems far-fetched. But if smatterings of rainfall and the first crisp mornings are yet to convince you that the seasons are changing, maybe a more substantial sign will do the trick. Pumpkins have arrived.

In Cambridgeshire, the first Onion Squash and Crown Prince are ready, and the difference in taste and texture between the two is remarkable (to say nothing of their pleasingly contrasting skins, fiery orange and duck egg blue, respectively.) The Onion Squash is silky and savoury, softening up in stews and over flames. The Crown Prince has an altogether different texture. Its dry, chestnutty flesh makes it ideal for turning into gnocchi but also means it can stand up to a number of additions, from Pecorino Toscano to Maple Syrup, to make fillings that are rich not runny. Together they are a reminder of how versatile this emblem of Autumn's truly is. 

However autumnal, pumpkins can be proof that sunshine lingers for longer than we think. Oscar cures his Delica Pumpkins outdoors, while the sun is hot enough - over the last few years, this period has become longer and longer. The curing process - where pumpkins are cut from the vine once ready and then left in warm conditions for up to a month to draw out excess moisture and firm up the skin - is essential for Oscar to achieve the impossibly sweet, silky and dense-fleshed pumpkins he is famous for. Curing intentional and intensely, to dramatically reduce water content is a process unique to Oscar. The Delica demonstrates versatility, all on its own. While its dense flesh makes it perfect for smoothing into fillings and purées it can also be roasted whole, skin and all.

Some pumpkins come into their own once transformed. The Napoletana, for instance, is more similar in texture to a summer squash, with looser, lighter flesh and very few seeds - but with a more concentrated, savoury flavour. Its size may be daunting, but once turned into soup or sauce it is simply delicious. Soon the Violino will join us too, a monstrous gourd, that yields to velvet once roasted.

Perhaps it is fitting that something that starts growing when the sun is high in the sky and takes us through to the coldest nights, can bring Summer's brightness into Winter, in so many different forms.