][1]As you may have noticed, after a brilliant summer, the sun seems to be taking a bit of a break; it’s raining more often and the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn.
After many years of experience, the 5pm Dining blog has deduced that this probably means that it is autumn. With autumn comes the harvest and with the harvest comes lots of fantastic food from Scotland’s natural larder.
Put simply, this is one of the best times of year to be scoffing all the game, fruits, lamb and langoustines which are at their best right now.
The Scottish government are keen to get us all eating seasonally. When in season, foods taste their best, they have a higher nutritional content and they are cheaper than during the rest of the year.
If you want to know what is in season this month and indeed every month of the year then Scotgov have produced a handy calendar which you can access here.
Tasty, affordable, seasonal
To help promote the idea, Tony Singh and Seumas McInnes of Café Gandolfi have created tasty, affordable menus that can be easily created at home using local, seasonal produce.
Hot on the heel of his BBC2 series, The Incredible Spice Men, Tony’s adding a touch of heat to his autumn menu, which includes smoked salmon with spiced beetroot salad; roast marinated pork served with seasonal veg and baked new potatoes followed by Scottish Cranachan with a wee twist.
Gandolfi magic
Seumas McInnes and head chef, Joanne Munro from Glasgow’s popular, Café Gandolfi have come up with a menu of pumpkin and roasted garlic soup with scallop and crispy leaf; loin of Orkney lamb on a sweet potato puree with kale, sautéed girolles and a hazelnut and lemon pesto, finishing with roasted Scottish plums with Greek yoghurt and honey and star anise,.
Café Gandolfi will also be offering the menu to customers throughout the last two weeks of September.
Spice it up
Tony Singh said: ‘Scotland produces loads of amazing foods all year long but we need to enjoy them at the right time to make sure they’re at their tastiest. My autumn menu shows you how to do just that, all with a touch of spice, of course. It’s simple to whip up at home and really showcases the great flavours in season now – all you need to do is give it a go.’
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