Vegan

Season: Late August to September. Dark-skinned with a bluish bloom, small oval damson plums are very tart and well flavored, which makes them wonderful for preserving. This is a straightforward recipe that keeps the fruit whole and tender. I love warming cinnamon and allspice in the mix, but you can use any spices you fancy, or even a good tablespoonful of ready-made pickling spice (see p. 89). These sweet spiced damsons are a lovely addition to any buffet table and splendid with cold poultry.

Season: August to September. Runner beans are a bit of a love-or-hate vegetable and are often scorned in favor of other green beans. I do sympathize with those who don’t eat them – we’ve all been served rubbery, graying old runners at some time or another and they’re no fun at all. However, young tender green runner beans are altogether different, and this recipe is just perfect for these guys. It has been eaten and enjoyed by nearly everyone who has walked into my kitchen, so I hope that reproducing it here will convert a few more bean haters. I think pickled beans are great alongside cold meats and salads. Use a couple of jars that are at least 5 inches high – taller, if possible – so that the beans can show off their length.

Season: August to December. I love pickled fruits and always look forward to opening a jar to serve with cold poultry and ham. Small, hard pears are ideal for use in this recipe, and it’s a very good way to deal with a barrel-load of them. If you stick with the basic quantities of sugar and vinegar, this recipe can easily be adapted for use with other fruits and different spices (see the variations below).

Season: July to September. This is a wonderful way to use up an abundance of cucumbers, be they long and uniform green, or the short, knobbly-skinned type. It’s also very quick and easy to make if you use a food processor. This is not a true preserve, as the cucumbers are not brined and the pickle is very light, but it will keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks in a sealed container. I love this sweet condiment with all manner of salads and in sandwiches, but it’s especially delectable with hot-smoked trout or salmon.

Season: June to October. This is essentially Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s classic Glutney, or River Cottage chutney, which first appeared in The River Cottage Cookbook. The fruit and vegetable chopping is time-consuming, but important. Whizzing everything up in a food processor would give a very different, sloppy-textured result.

Season: May to July. Made with the reddish green stalks of main-crop or field rhubarb, this relish is quick and easy, involving much less cooking than a chutney would require. It is light, very fruity, and not too sweet. Delicious with curries, oily fish, chicken, and cheese and in sandwiches, it’s a versatile addition to the larder. Rhubarb, by the way, is very easy to prepare, but do take care to always remove the leaves, as they are poisonous.

Season: September to November. Autumn is the season for apples. For centuries, the apple crop has been important, and the apple tree cherished and celebrated for its fruit. Wassailing is an English West Country tradition when, on Twelfth Night of old (January 17), country folk toast and drink to the health of the largest and most prolific apple tree in the orchard for a healthy, fruitful crop the coming season. The sharp and bittersweet qualities of cider give this old-fashioned apple butter a special flavor. It’s a sensational fruity spread to daub over hot buttered toast or crumpets.

Season: Late September to October. A fruit cheese is simply a solid, sliceable preserve – and the princely quince, with its exquisite scent and delicately grainy texture, makes the most majestic one of all. It can be potted in small molds to turn out, slice, and eat with cheese. Alternatively, you can pour it into shallow trays to set, then cut it into cubes, coat with sugar, and serve as a sweetmeat. A little coarsely chopped quince cheese adds a delicious fruity note to lamb stews or tagines – or try combining it with chopped apple for a pie or crumble.

Season: May to August. After a dismal result with my strawberry jam at the 2007 Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Show, I decided to get my act together and work out a recipe that i could rely on to get me that much-coveted first prize next time. My kitchen soon took on the appearance of a strawberry jam factory, with coded batches piled just about everywhere. I thought I’d nearly made the grade on batch three, but the tweaking for batch four caused mayhem in the jam pan. However, batch five seemed to come alive from the moment the lemon juice was added, and I knew it was going to be just right – bright in color, with some soft whole fruit and, of course, that wonderful, intense strawberry taste. Strawberries are low in pectin. Using sugar with added pectin helps to attain a lovely set and a flavor that isn’t too sickly sweet. Use freshly picked, dry fruit – not too big, or they’ll blow to bits when the jam is bubbling away. However, if you’re using very small fruit, make sure they’re not too hard and seedy.

Matzo is an unleavened bread, made with flour and water and traditionally served during Passover; matzo farfel is made from dried noodles that are broken into small pieces. Both can be found in kosher sections of grocery stores. Vegetable oil is used in place of butter, to keep the cookies nondairy.

For best results, use moist, plump dried figs.

These cookies originated in Spain, but today they are often associated with the American Southwest, particularly New Mexico, where they are the official state cookie. Lard imparts incomparable flavor—it’s worth seeking it out, although vegetable shortening can be substituted.

Crunchy coconut biscuits are a Jamaican specialty and are crispest the day they’re baked. To toast coconut, preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until light golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

This classic ingredient comes in handy. Double or triple the recipe and keep some in the fridge at all times for seasonin’ bread, sauce, or your best friend.

This is the lusty cousin of our All-Purpose Red Rub (see page 167). It’ll make whatever you rub it into earthy, spicy, and complex. But don’t use it only on meat destined for barbecue; sprinkle it on anything you’re grillin’, including veggies. Mix it into bread crumbs before coating food, or stir it into a casserole. It’s a great flavor-boostin’ agent.

Rubbin’ spices into meat is the essential first step of great barbecue. This is a good starter rub, but feel free to personalize it. Add some of your favorite herbs or pulverized dried smoked chiles. Just make sure you keep the sweet, savory, and spicy flavors in balance.

For years I carted cases of this citrus-flavored Cuban marinade back from Miami, til we started making it in the restaurant. The real thing is all tarted up with the juice of bitter oranges—nearly impossible to find. So we add a touch of lime juice to freshly squeezed orange juice to give it the right kick. It’s one of the most versatile pantry ingredients you can make. Use it as a marinade for pork and chicken, pour it over cooked veggies or potatoes, or toss it with salad greens.

I was eating at my favorite deli in the world—the Second Avenue Deli in New York City—when the pickle tray came out and inspiration hit. Why were we buyin’ pickles when we could make our own to go with our sandwiches? So we came up with our own brand of Garlic Dill Pickles spiced up with slices of fresh jalapeño peppers. They’re appetizing and guaranteed to get your taste buds tinglin’. Folks are always asking us to bottle ‘em, but til we do you can make up your own batch. Keep ‘em in a crock with a tight-fittin’ lid in the fridge. They keep for weeks and weeks.