In between mini-heatwaves, thunders and flash floods, it feels lovely and autumnal. Thanks to wet August (thank you, August. Not.) it’s still green everywhere but there is a slight chill in the air, morning mist in the valley and of course early nights.
Who would want a barbecue, even on an unseasonably warm Sunday? Not me. I want root vegetables, saucy gratins, casseroles and soups, with apple and pear bakes for dessert.
Caveat, though: apparently it’s the autumn rather than Christmas indulgence that makes us kickstart weight gain, only to wake up in spring to beach-totally-unready body. And of course, wouldn’t you know it, middle-aged women are the main victims.
In autumn clothes get bulkier, sleeves cover up bingo wings, weather does not entice outdoorsy activities and we crave the above mentioned creamy and rich dishes. And it’s no good telling ourselves that we’ll easily lose the winter surplus in spring, because the cruel truth is: it is more and more difficult to do that as you get older.
What to do then? We should certainly get out more than we fancy, whenever the weather reasonably allows. We should be catching the sun on nice days, because also, surprise, surprise (I am being sarcastic), it has now been decided that sunshine is good for us and sun lovers live longer.
If you don’t jog, walk – I do. Spend your lunch hour outside, following the sandwich with a brisk stroll (or the other way round). Dogs are a blessing – they won’t accept that it’s too wet to go out so that will take you outside daily to trudge behind the pup.
Foodwise, my usual mantra: eat what you fancy, just smaller portions and not all the time if it’s rich and calorific. Ultra processed foods are to be avoided but that is actually not so hard: long nights and colder weather are conducive to pleasant home cooking sessions.
And so you can now discover great dishes made with all the root vegetables, rich in fibre and filling. Make autumn vegetable tian, pretty, nutritious and rewarding. You can cook a rich beetroot or parsnip gratin and enjoy it for dinner, but have it as a main course or just with some lean sliced roast chicken breast. Another gratin option is potato and fennel, or potato and cabbage because you know what, cabbage is cool now. See also kalpudding, Swedish meatloaf with more cabbage than meat and tonnes of flavour (and fibre). Or my take on lasagne, with cabbage filling between the pasta layers – it’s much more gorgeous than it sounds.
Satisfying but healthy casseroles include butter beans with ham hock and veggie cabbage with walnuts. And don’t forget squash, especially in this format: baked in cheesy custard.
If you’re fortunate to get some wild mushrooms, cook them with pan fried guinea fowl breast. But dried porcini are perfectly fine too, for instance in this spelt risotto.
And if you fancy a pie, go ahead: chicken and mushroom or steak and ale. Watching your weight is not about restrictive diet, it’s about being moderate and sensible in portion control. Thus a pie for dinner means just a green salad on the side rather than a pile of mash or a bucket of chips.
Which also means you can have a slice of cake for dessert. Make haste to buy some Bursa figs before they finish and make sticky fig cake. That’s a proper autumnal dessert! Happy October!