Our menu of the month
September is a month of between-the-seasons eating. As summer turns to autumn, we start to turn to comforting dishes that are a little more hearty. Salads still appear, but they’re followed up by comfort food in the form of confit duck or chicken supremes.
Here we have 3 new menu ideas for you from the delicious. food team, including lots of new recipes and ideas for easy dinner parties and weekend kitchen projects.
The new menu for date night
As summer turns to autumn, tomatoes, plums and pears create a stunning fruit-forward feast. Show the one you love what they mean to you with this feast.
Start with a refreshing gin hugo cocktail, then move on to this NEW salad of tomatoes with peaches, grapes, feta and oregano for a starter to make the most of tomatoes at their best. Another new recipe, perfect for date night is our confit duck legs with shoestring fries and plum ketchup. It’s a hearty main that is rich but still elegant. You can make the duck and ketchup the day before, too, to make this easier on yourself.
Then finish everything off with the master of desserts, Michel Roux Jr’s poached pears with chocolate almond sauce. It is another make-ahead marvel.
Find the recipes here:
★ The gin hugo cocktail
★ Tomatoes with peach, grapes, feta and oregano
★ Confit duck leg with shoestring fries
★ Michel Roux’s poached pears with chocolate almond sauce
Between-the-seasons crowdpleaser menu
Having friends over? This menu can easily be scaled up for a crowd. Kick things off with our new and seasonal salad of mozzarella, quick-pickled plums and burnt leek salad. Please the crowds with an indulgent chicken main. that hits the perfect early autumn note. Think a chicken parmigiana turned inside out: oozing with melted mozzarella, crispy on the outside, and with a sharp-sweet burst and silky texture from the tomatoes and aubergines.
For dessert, it’s a retro pud of key-lime pie which is the perfect finale being both fresh and rich at the same time. Finally, snack on these Lebanese maamoul, a NEW recipe from Angela Zaher while you sip on a little glass of something lovely.
Find the recipes here:
★ Mozzarella, plum and burnt leek salad
★ Parmigiana stuffed chicken supremes
★ Key lime pie
★ Lebanese maamoul
Hunker down with project preserve
Spend a Sunday preparing our September cover star British plum umeboshi (a Japanese pickled plum made with vodka), AND our speedy plum and vanilla jam which is a doddle. It keeps its chunky texture for use in puddings. A do-it-yourself harissa is another to have and to hold. Your future self will be very grateful indeed.
All three of these will sit happily in the fridge or freezer for weeks, and provide heaps of flavour for sweet and savoury creations throughout the cooler months.
Find the recipes here:
★ British plum umeboshi
★ Plum and vanilla jam
★ Homemade harissa
For more September recipe ideas, check out our seasonal recipes here.