From Season to Season: A Year in Recipes

SERVES 4

400g/14oz of gooseberries

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of orange flower water

185ml/¾ cup of Greek yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4. Put the gooseberries in an ovenproof baking dish and sprinkle with the sugar and orange flower water. Cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, take out and leave to cool thoroughly. Strain the gooseberries, pour into the blender and purée for a minute or so.

This can be eaten in a multitude of ways. Pour on the top of the yoghurt so it drips through, leave on the bottom of the yoghurt to find as a surprise or ribbon through it.

Autumn Lunches (#ulink_49840f28-340a-578c-ba88-307e6777634a)

Heartbreak carbonara (or the first thing I ever cooked for a boy) (#ulink_8ff8ad93-6875-5d80-9714-f8b73978a84f)

To marry with the wistful theme of my autumn, here is the first thing I ever cooked for a boy who I loved quietly and secretly. The carbonara in the pan lingered longer than he did — he wolfed it down with a bottle of Chianti, and informed me he was actually in love with a dancer called Willow (or something infinitely more exotic than Sophie). Then he disappeared into the night. I lay sobbing on the floor, wishing I could be angular and coordinated like Willow. Indeed, I cried such a ridiculous amount that in the morning I looked as if I had a black eye, and my mother gave me a heartbreak dispensation day off school.

SERVES 4

125g/4½ 0z of pancetta, bacon or ham

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 egg yolks

30g/¼ cup of grated Parmesan

A splash of white wine

2 tablespoons of single/light cream

Salt and pepper

500g/1lb 2oz of spaghetti

Cut the pancetta into bite-sized pieces. In a medium-sized frying pan, put a small glug of oil and cook the pancetta until crispy. Put to the side.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, Parmesan, splash of wine, the cream and some salt and pepper. Add the pancetta and mix it all together. Cook the pasta and, as soon as it is ready, mix it quickly with the sauce so the egg doesn’t cook.

Heartbreak not essential.

Squash and Parmesan soup (#ulink_8c4e4c52-9f26-5a27-8906-8620f6901883)

This is what blowsy October days are made for. Comforting and golden, this soup is a hymn to autumn. I first made this clucking around in upstate New York when I had some leftover squash. It works just as well with pumpkin or sweet potato.

SERVES 4

50g/½ stick of butter

1kg/2lb of squash, cubed

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 tablespoons of sherry

875ml/3½ cups of chicken or vegetable stock

½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper

A couple of bay leaves

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of double/heavy cream

A handful of toasted pumpkin seeds

A handful of fresh chopped parsley

A handful of grated Parmesan

In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and add the squash, onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes. Add the sherry, stir and then add the stock, cayenne pepper and bay leaves. Cook until the squash is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup either with a hand-held mixer or in the blender. Season and add the cream. Serve with a topping of pumpkin seeds, parsley and grated Parmesan.

Spanish omelette (#ulink_cf9fa619-b38a-5664-87e5-ccc757c6a1ac)

Like a frittata, a bit of a recycling dish for what you’ve got lying around. Also great for a lunchbox for a small or big person – just wrap in greaseproof/wax paper.

SERVES 4

3 tablespoons of olive oil

225g/1½ cups of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

150g/1⅓ cups of onions, thinly sliced

8 eggs

Salt and pepper

Preheat the grill to a high setting. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil on a medium to low flame. Add the potatoes and the onions and cook until golden. Take off the heat and reserve.

Whisk the eggs and season them. Pour the onion and potato mixture into the eggs and heat another tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add the egg, potato and onion and turn the heat down to low. Loosen the edges and agitate the pan.

When the bottom is set and golden brown, take an oiled plate, turn the omelette out and put it back in the pan, this time face-side down. Transfer the omelette to under a hot grill and cook for another minute or two until the top is set, then turn out, serving happily either hot or cold.