Fall Recipe Round Up

This Fall Recipe Round Up is a collection of my recipes to inspire you to cook with seasonal produce. Many things inspire me to cook and the seasons is one of them. During each season I try to enjoy the fruits and vegetables at their peak. Skim through the lists of recipes and find something new or perhaps something you haven’t made since last fall.

Aside from the great taste of produce a seasonal strategy adds variety to your everyday pattern of meals. If you save your absolute favourites then over time you’ll have recipes you look forward to making as the seasons change.

These six categories are simply the way I think of the fresh produce I want to cook with at this time of year.

• Peppers and Tomatoes
• Pumpkin
• Root Vegetables – Potatoes, Carrots, Beets and Parsnips
• Squash – Zucchini, Butternut and Eggplant
• Cranberries and Pears
• Apples and Grapes

Peppers and Tomatoes

I buy bell peppers and chile peppers all year long but in the fall is when the displays include the most variety of colourful peppers. Tomatoes are on their way out but people are still posting pictures of kitchen tables covered with their garden harvest. I’m more likely to make Roasted Tomato Soup in the fall but the weather influences my choices and I’ve got lots of fall favourites to choose from.

• Stuffed Peppers Two Ways
• Paneer and Peppers in Fragrant Gravy
• Southwestern Quinoa Salad with peppers
• Roasted Tomato Soup
• Farm-To-Table Gazpacho
• Puttanesca Sauce for pasta or fish
• Lentil and Red Pepper Soup
• Chicken with Tapenade and Tomato Basil Sauce

Pumpkin

People seem to agree that pumpkin is now it’s own season so I say just go with it. Whether you’re cooking with fresh or canned pumpkin this is the time of year to do it.

• Sugar Pumpkins Stuffed with Pumpkin Risotto
• Moist and delicious Pumpkin Date Cake
• Pumpkin Crème Brulee
• Traditional Pumpkin Pie
• Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies
• Fall Pumpkin Ginger Muffins

Root Vegetables – Potatoes, Carrots, Beets and Parsnips

I use potatoes and carrots year round yet when they’re at their peak there’s more variety available and everything looks fresh. Roast a variety of root vegetables and you’ll find different ways to use them up. Be sure to read the tags and signs on your produce to find out where it came from.

• Roasted Root Vegetables
• Roasted Carrot Hummus
• Harvest Jewelled Salad
• Beet Yogurt Salad with Walnuts
• Salad with Beets, Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts
• Scalloped White and Sweet Potatoes
• Potato Latkes with apple

Squash – Zucchini, Butternut and Eggplant

Zucchini is a summer squash but in early fall gardeners in my area are still dreaming up creative ways to use it (They would say “get rid of it”!). Grocery stores and markets now have huge displays of winter squash like butternut, acorn, spaghetti squash and many more. Shiny purple eggplants in different sizes are also in season during the late summer and into fall. Eggplant is technically a fruit but in many recipes I switch zucchini and eggplant so it fits into this category for me.

• Pan Fried Zucchini Fritters
• Rice Stuffed Vegetables
• Balsamic Marinated Vegetables
• Greek Moussaka
• Butternut Squash and Pancetta Penne
• Butternut Squash Soup with Poblano Chiles

Cranberries and Pears

This selection of recipes includes cranberries that are fresh, dried and canned. Pears are a luscious fall fruit that require close observation to enjoy them when they’re perfectly ripe but that first bite will remind you that it was worth the wait. There are several pear varieties available in fall so try a few.

• Cranberry Orange Chicken
• Warm Cranberry Dip
• Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad
• Pears Poached in Port with Cranberry
• Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Pomegranate Pear Guacamole
• Cranberry Orange and Cilantro Salsa – the recipe I serve with my turkey dinner

Apples and Grapes

Apples are falling off trees and going to waste so try and get some before they fall to the ground. We’re spoiled with varieties of apples but sometimes they taste like they’ve flown half way around the world. Look for some local varieties and try them. I had to include grapes yet I’m just eating them out of hand and tossing some into my salads. (There are grapes in my Pomegranate Pear Guacamole recipe above).

• Grilled Mustard Chicken with Apple Rings
• Crab Apple Jelly Glazed Chicken
• Spinach Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing
• Fruit Crisp
• Apple Quinoa Salad with Feta
• Overnight Oats
• Baked Apples with Caramel Sauce
• Morning Glory Muffins (apple and carrot)

That’s a wrap for fall! There are so many delicious things to cook I hope you’ll try something new because winter will be here before you know it!

Let me know in the comments below what you tried or what you look forward to cooking in the fall.