February 19, 2018
When we experience the joy of having a vegetable garden, we learn how important it is to respect the seasonality of vegetables. Unlike the supermarkets displays, we realize there is a season for each vegetable. We learn new ways to cook.
My parents live in a small village and have the chance to have a beautiful vegetable garden. It has happened to us a few times, it is the end of the Summer and we have baskets full of zucchinis. We then need to renew our recipes to keep the pleasure of the harvest and it is the occasion to stimulate our imagination.
We cook each vegetable in different ways; the raw beetroot can be grated, presented in sticks or sliced carpaccio style. Cooked, the beetroot can be presented in cubes or mixed in sauce. The taste will be different each time. For a same recipe, we can use a different mode of cooking which will change the flavours. Raw or cooked, the vegetable can be served with different dressings: vegetable oils (sesame, olive, avocado..), herb dressing, spices, almond cream…
Taking care of a garden is the occasion to discover forgotten vegetables. We find a variery of vegetable in a same family. For example the squash; acorn squash, ambercup squash, banana squash, butternut squash, carnival squash.. and we can cook them salty or sweet.
There comes a rhythm: cooking according to the seasons is less dull. There is a cycle and we follow it. It is easier to start with what you have in your basket rather then following a recipe regardless of the seasons. The cooking books I buy follow this concept, recipes are classified by seasons. It is practical and respectul of nature. Cooking organic vegetables is simple and naturally tastier as there is no need for extra frills. To create pretty combinations taste wise, you simply have to stay in the same season. There is a culinary evidence.
A pumpkin soup and hazelnut cream is a beautiful combination, a zucchini soup with a basil cream as well. Grilled chestnuts will taste better mixed with cooked red cabbage than with a ratatouille. Few ingredients and an authentic, uncomplicated cuisine, this is my secret.
Pumpkin and Leek soup
For 6 people
Ingredients
- 1 Big pumpkin
- 3 Leeks
- 2 Garlic cloves
Preparation
- Bake the pumpkin in the oven for 30mn (180°)
- Add the leek in the oven , let it cook for 10mn
- Put the pumpkin and leek in a blender, add hot water and mix
- Add fresh garlic and mix
- If you wish you can add some seeds, for example sunflower and hemp seeds
Enjoy!
