Leaves falling off the trees… this means we finally get to talk about squashes and pumpkins. They are our veg of the month. It’s a really good year for squashes, which you will already know if you have an allotment! Good yields are reported by our growers and the taste is very well developed across the board. We get one of our deli chefs to roast new squashes as they come in, so we have an idea of texture and flavour. Surprisingly, it’s different every year. The results are published in our squash leaflet, which can be found on the display.
Old faithful varieties include harlequin (good roaster) and golden nugget (keeps its shape in currys etc.). Glebelands have been growing some lovely huge varieties in Stockport. Their Candy Roaster has a “melt in the mouth texture”. Squashes are extremely versatile in cooking and can also be used in making sweet stuff…look out for sweet pumpkin balls on the deli.
This is also the first week for UK butternut squashes, which are the hardest variety to grow. They come from Carey in Herefordshire.
As mentioned last week: Cauliflowers are having their time in spotlight. There’s lots of choice: green Romanesque with its beautiful fractals, purple and traditional white, courtesy of Wass in Yorkshire and Gielty in Ormskirk.
