Bare Seasons: January in the Northern Hemispere

Seasonal cooking is all about eating food that it is at it best, making the most of your country's produce.

Seafood

Fish such as coley, mullet, lemon sole, mackerel, mussels and scallops are good value in January. Mackerel you will pay a ridiculously low price for an under rated fish. Mackerel is a highly prized fish by the Japanese appearing in many dishes, including sushi.

Game

The game season is soon at an end so take advantage while you can. Much of the game is old and is best suited to casseroles, pies and other dishes where the meat is slowly cooked. Pigeon, partridge, woodcock, Snipe and hare are in season in January. Mallard is widely available at many butchers and supermarket and it makes an excellent roast for two, prepare it as you would duck pricking its skin but reduce the cooking time.

Vegetables

Swedes, parsnips, carrots, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes and many other varieties of root vegetables are in abundance in the winter months. Make sure you have some swede in the house to serve mashed with your Haggis on Burns night on the 25th of January. Jerusalem Artichokes are delicious roasted with their skin on or try boiling them in coconut milk with ginger. One of my favourite side dishes to game and steak or served as a snack is a mixture of root vegetable crisps (game chips). To prepare "Game Chips" thinly slice your choice of root vegetables (parsnips, sweet potato and Jerusalem artichokes, all work well) then fry them in a deep fryer at 160°C for a few minutes then drain them and cook them for a second time at 190°C for a couple of minutes until they rise to the top and they are crisp, drain them on kitchen toweling and season with a little salt and pepper. Why no try this months recipe for "Jerusalem Artichoke, Apple and Stilton".

Cauliflower is widely available, its delicious boiled up and covered with belchamel sauce and served along side comforting dishes such as salt beef. It also makes a great creamy puree, this makes an excellent accompaniment with pan fried scallops.

Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Spring Greens and many more green leaf vegetables are filling the shelves in the supermarkets and are great value in the markets. Savoy cabbage is good steamed or boiled, tossed with diced bacon and served with game or shred the outer leaves finely and deep fry them and sprinkle over a little salt, sugar and five spice powder and served as Chinese deep fried seaweed (great served with spicy grilled or deep fried tiger prawns or noodle dishes). Try Brussels sprouts boiled and tossed with a little ginger and garlic or shred them and stir fry them, spring green's also work well when stir fried. Freshly boiled broccoli florets taste delicious with anchovies, make an anchovy sauce by combining finely chopped anchovies with olive oil and a little lemon juice or mix with butter.

Fruit

Ugli Fruit, Limes, Lemons, Grapefruit, Seville Oranges and many more varieties of citrus fruits are in the stores this month. Grape fruit made my favourite breakfast when I was child sliced into wedges in its skin and sprinkled with plenty of caster sugar. It maybe the wrong time of year for it but freshly squeezed mixed citrus fruit mixed with rum and sugar syrup or caster sugar makes a wicked "rum punch". Marmalade made from oranges or another citrus fruit is one of those traditional preserves that's lurking in one or many of our cookbooks. This month we also feature some citrus fruit recipes which include Citrus Tart, Citrus Soufflè, and Orange and Coconut cake.

Rhubarb (forced) makes its debut this month and is available now until April. I love rhubarb in many dishes but I enjoy it most of all in a pie or crumble.

Going, Going, Gone .......

Pheasant season draws to an end on February 1st so why not stock up on it while it is still available and cheap, it will freeze well so that you can enjoy later on in the year. Pheasant is delicious pot roasted with cider and apples and served with Savoy cabbage.

In January British Apples and Pearsseason comes to an end. While there is still a few British apple varieties available in the year, the excellent choice we have enjoyed over the last few months will diminish. Apples and Pears are delicious poached, why not try a spicy poaching stock with red wine, sugar, chills, cloves, star anise, and cinnamon and serve them in savoury salad or with pork rillete or pate or as a dessert with ice cream or creme fraiche, reduce the poaching liquid and serve it as a sauce with the apple or pear.

Pumpkins will soon be gone from the shelves, so why not try one of our recipes for pumpkin and other squash varieties through our recipes search.