Spring is often cited as a favourite culinary month. There is a lot to excited about; vibrant greens and new season lamb among them. Yet, for those of us who prefer to indulge in the cozier side of life, autumn heralds a shift towards comfort. As the leaves change, so too does the colour palette of our base ingredients; the subdued orange of squash, the earthy browns of mushrooms and the solid reds of apples all reflect the season.
If you keep your eyes open, you can spot mushrooms popping up from dewy grass and growing out of the thick bark of trees. Mushrooms can be deadly and it's imperative that you forage with an expert, such as mycologist Bill O'Dea (mushroomstuff.com) who runs foraging tours around the country at this time of year. O'Dea has teamed up with Tara Walker of East Cost Cookery in Co Louth for a one-day wild mushroom foraging and cookery class on October 10th from 10am. Tickets are €60 per person and can be bought via eastcoastcookeryschool.ie.
The 14th annual Mushroom Hunt Weekend returns to Longueville House in Co Cork on October 18th. Tickets are €85 and include lunch and wine. Children under 12 go for €25, including lunch and farm- pressed apple juice. Details on longuevillehouse.ie.
If you can't get out foraging, you might be interested in the Cork-based husband-and-wife team behind Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms. Famed for their "Porcini Dust", a tub of umami-rich powdered cep and porcini mushrooms, ideal for seasoning meats, sauces and soups, you can find out more at ballyhouramushrooms.ie.
Did you know that hazelnuts are native to Ireland? We have a long history of gathering these seasonal nuts, and hazelnut remains have been found at excavations dating to the Irish Mesolithic period (8000- 4000BC), as outlined by Ancient Food and Farming (ancientfoodandfarming.blogspot.ie). Hazelnuts grow on trees wrapped in velvety husks. Autumn is when the hazelnuts are ready to be picked and peeled. They're encased in a shell, which can be quite soft before ripened and dried.
Hell's Kettle in Co Wicklow are a small organic dairy farm who have been tending to their hazelnut orchard for six years. They sell bags of unshelled hazelnuts in November and December, once their crop has had time to ripen and dry.
Currently, a large amount of the world’s hazelnut supply comes from Turkey. Bad weather last year has led to a shortage this year, which has been reflected in the price of hazelnuts, currently hovering around €40 per kilo for organic shelled hazelnuts. Hell’s Kettle will be selling them later this year at around €30 per kilo, unshelled.
Honestly, is there a more autumnal activity than sitting around with friends cracking nuts? See hellskettle.ie for more on when their new season hazelnuts are ready.
Seafood is a comfort at this time of year and nothing looks better at the moment than oysters. You can choose between the flat and small (in size, not flavour) Galway oysters or the long and creamy Carlingford variety. Native oysters are the way to go and this is the perfect month to be eating them, whether it's with a glass of stout at Moran's Oyster Cottage in Galway or with a glass of bubbly upstairs at The Fish Bar at Electric in Cork City.
If raw fish isn't your thing, you might love Silver Darlings pickled herrings. Based in Limerick, they specialise in the Nordic approach to preserving fish in flavours, such as star anise and lemon or the more classic dill and vinegar. Check out silverdarlings.ie to find out if they'll be at a farmers' market near you this season.
Crunch time
The apples of Ireland’s autumn are probably the most accessible of our seasonal ingredients, and you should see a happy surge in the availability of Irish-grown apples in your supermarket and local farmers’ market.
At David Llewellyn's Orchard in Lusk, Co Dublin, (llewellynsorchard.ie), the focus is primarily on apples, which Llewellyn sells in their purest form every Saturday at the Temple Bar Food Market. He has also diversified over the years, and his range includes a marvelous apple- based balsamic vinegar and a startlingly good apple cider vinegar. He's well known in the market for selling cups of warmed mulled apple juice, a welcome treat as the weather cools.
The Apple Farm (theapplefarm.com) run by Cornelius Traas outside Cahir in Tipperary is another favourite too. Willem and Ali Traas moved from the Netherlands to Ireland in the late 1960s to grow fruit, bringing a family heritage of fruit-growing that dated back to the 1800s with them. Their son Cornelius Traas now runs The Apple Farm, which started selling juices made on the farm in 1995. As well as apples, they grow plums, pears, cherries, strawberries and raspberries. Their farm shop also stocks an apple cider vinegar, sparkling apple juice and an apple cider.
Things also get exciting this time of year in Kilkenny at Highbank Orchard. This organic apple orchard is beloved for its Highbank Orchard Apple Syrup, which adds a divine drizzle to a bowl of porridge. Also a favourite is their Driver's Cider, a non-alcoholic apple cider that is perfectly balanced in sweet and sourness. Find out more at highbankorchards.com.
For meat eaters, it's all about the game. Chef JP McMahon of Aniar in Galway is spending the next few weeks in The Irish Times Magazine sharing his knowledge of game meats, so make sure to pick up a copy tomorrow and in the coming weeks over the weekend to get a piece of his expertise on cooking ingredients such as grouse, partridge, pheasant and hare.
