Embrace the flavours of autumn’s harvest and get helpful recipe ideas to get the most out of them in your cooking this season. 

As the seasons change, so do the produce. Not only do you pay less for produce when it’s in-season, it was harvested at the right time, and leaves a smaller carbon footprint due to less transport. Cook with these yummy in-season fruit and vegetables this season:

Pumpkin

In the culinary world, autumn and pumpkin are synonymous. From cannelloni to a delicious meringue dessert, this orange vegetable is packed with vitamins and minerals and adds a sweet, earthy flavour to your dishes.

Try these yummy pumpkin recipes: 

Low GI pear & pumpkin breakfast muffins

Low-carb pumpkin and sage cannelloni

Pumpkin meringue pie

Peas

Whether you eat them in the pods or not, peas are delicious and filled with protein, Vitamin C and zinc. It also adds a vibrant and sweet flavour to all your dishes.

Try these yummy easy-peasy recipes:

Rösti with creamy smashed peas and poached eggs

Sugar snap pad Thai with peanut sauce

Hake kebabs with mushy peas

Bangers and mash with buttery peas

Apples

As they say, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Apples are not only nutritious, but this versatile autumnal fruit is also the star of many a hearty (and delicious) dish.

Try these (golden) delicious autumn meals with apples:

Roasted apples with yoghurt & oat crumble

Walnut-crusted hake with apple-cider radishes

Buttermilk fried chicken with apple slaw

Onion and apple pork chops with butter bean mash

Mini salted-caramel-and-apple Tartes Tatin

Pomegranate

One of the most eagerly awaited autumn fruits, the pomegranate is this season’s superfruit thanks to its high levels of antioxidants that may reduce the risk of many diseases. Not only is the colour rich, but the burst of flavour brightens up any dish.

Try these delicious pomegranate recipes:

Kofta with roti and pomegranate-mint gremolata

Pomegranate and chocolate fudge to make with the little ones

Lamb tenderloin with pomegranate yoghurt

Photography: Pexels

The post Seasonal produce to cook with in autumn  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Here are some clever ways you can sneak in some veggies so they get their much-needed vitamins and minerals.  

Getting your kids to eat their veggies can be exhausting. But while It may be tough now, your child will become less fussy and more adventurous about food as their taste develops.  

Tips to get your kids to eat more vegetables: 

• Introduce it early on. Getting them to try vegetables early on will help to get them used to the taste. 
• Purée or grate it into meals. This works well in pasta sauces and soups. 
• Match colours. Keep your dishes as close a colour to the actual vegetable used. The closer you can keep the dish to the real deal, the better!  

Grate veggies into baked goods

Carrots can be grated into almost any recipe but they are especially tasty in muffins. Another vegetable that works well in sweet dishes is baby marrow – perfect for chocolate brownies. 

Use lentils in place of beef in recipes

With the correct seasoning and spicing, you can perfectly disguise lentils as beef in mince-based dishes like spaghetti bolognese and cottage pie. 

Cut veggies into fun shapes

Make eating veggies fun by using a crinkle-cut knife when slicing it into rounds or use small cookie cutters to cut softer fruits and veggies, such as cucumber and watermelon, into cool shapes. You could also use a spiraliser to make ‘noodles’ out of baby marrows. 

Serve crudites with a yummy dip or sauce

Plain, raw vegetables are way more enjoyable when dipped in a flavourful spread like hummus or tzatziki. 

Get creative with celery

Celery sticks are the perfect vessels for dipping into hummus or peanut butter.  

Make healthier flapjacks using steamed pumpkin

Get the same taste of warm, comforting pumpkin pie by adding cooled, steamed pumpkin to your flapjack batter and blitzing it together. 

Swap out sugary pancake fillings like syrup and caramel for fruit

Fruit in its whole, raw state is packed with loads of fibre – serve pancakes with cut fruit and a smidgeon of honey the next time you whip up a batch of pancakes. 

Make vegetable fritters

Veggie fritters are a great way to use up the forgotten vegetables lurking in your fridge’s crisper drawer. Vegetables that work well in fritter batter include baby marrows, leeks, spring onions, carrot, corn, cabbage and peas. 

Turn baby marrows and brinjals into crunchy fries

These veggie fries offer a flavour and texture explosion your kids will love. Dunk slices of baby marrow or brinjal into egg white, then dredge them in a mixture of panko breadcrumbs, flour, and seasoning. Bake until crisp and golden. 

Make healthier homemade crisps

Swap out store-bought crisps for a deliciously crunchy sweet potato version. Bonus? You can make them in an air fryer. Slice thin rounds of sweet potato, baste with olive oil and air fry at 200’C for 6 minutes, before turning over and baking for a further 7–8 minutes. 

Bulk up fish cakes with tinned beans

Traditionally, mashed potato is used as a binding agent for fish cakes, but you can get the same effect using tinned white beans, such as cannellini or butter beans. 

Swap out flour tortillas for lettuce wraps

Inject some more nutrition to hearty dishes where you’d usually pair it with a bread or wrap (think lapping up mince curry) by using lettuce leaves instead of carb-heavy white-flour wraps. 

Swap out pizza dough for a cauliflower crust

Blitz cauliflower. Steam and squeeze out the excess liquid before combining with grated hard cheese and mozzarella, and two eggs. Your kids won’t know the difference! 

Take boring veg to the next level in an egg-based dish

Frittatas and Spanish omelettes are great for hiding veggies such as broccoli, sweet potato, and bell peppers.  

The post How to Camouflage Seasonal Produce for Kids appeared first on MyKitchen.

If you’re struggling to hang on to your New Year’s resolutions, let the heat of summer serve as some extra motivation. As it gets too hot to cook with heat-excreting appliances, take to the fridge with its fresh and cooling seasonal produce. Here’s how to bump up flavour and nutrition with simple, sneaky steps.

By Jana du Plessis

In plain sight

They say the best way to hide something is to leave it in plain sight. And we agree! Try to add fresh foods without it being obvious, like cooling cucumber in an Indian raita or Greek tzatziki. It’s easy to whip up and tastes delicious!

A sensory experience

Think about the texture of your meals to see if something fresh could add to the eating experience. Crunchy lettuce and a juicy tomato is always welcome on a homemade burger, just like adding salad ingredients to a wrap gives it more flavour varieties.

On a limb

Use fresh ingredients in ways that you haven’t before. Have you tried lettuce cups filled with spiced meat? Or paired a cooked dish with a vibrant uncooked garnish? The kitchen awaits, start experimenting!

The post The fresher the better! How to incorporate more fresh ingredients into your diet appeared first on MyKitchen.