Hello September

September is probably the most abundant month in the vegetable garden. Summer crops, such as salads, tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers and runner beans are still in abundance while autumn crops such as apples, pears, squash, leeks are nearly ready for harvesting.

Cooking with fruit and meat isn't something which we do very often, although we do like pork with applesauce and turkey with cranberry sauce, but aside from that, fruit is not often used in savoury cooking, which is a shame. Just think of a Tagine with apricots or dates bringing a great layer of new taste levels to a dish.

So, this week I thought I would share the delights of a wonderful but fairly rarely seen  these days fruit – Damsons.  Damsons are small, dark purple fruits with a far more intense and acidic flavour than a plum. They get their name from Damascus where they are said to have been bred and eaten enthusiastically by ancient Romans. 
 

Here is a wonderful recipe for Damson. Beef Pots – which makes amazing use of the rich and luscious flavours of damsons, wine and star anis. You serve it with rustic brown bread to mop up the lovely juices and a bowl of seasonal vegetables. Damons are in the idle of their shir season – so do use them whilst you can. The recipe is HERE. Do use our wonderful diced steak from free range grass fed beef.