Seasonal farm produce at heart of new cookbook series
© Otherwise Publishing British-grown food and the changing seasons are being celebrated in a new four-part cookbook series showcasing produce from across the year.
Created by East Sussex farmer, food writer and cookery demonstrator Philippa Vine, the My Seasonal Kitchen books draw inspiration from ingredients grown and produced around her family farm at Arlington.
See also: Autumn recipes: Lamb meatballs and pumpkin and walnut cake
The second volume, Autumn, which has just been published brings harvest-time produce to the fore, with more than 40 recipes featuring orchard fruits, hedgerow berries, pumpkins, squashes and seasonal vegetables, alongside profiles of local farmers and food producers.
For Philippa, who wrote the Farmlife Flavours column for Farmers Weekly for 12 years, the four-book series reflects an approach to cooking that has remained largely unchanged throughout her career.
“How I cook is completely seasonal,” she says. “I wanted to separate the seasons because they are very, very different – different ingredients and a different energy as well. It’s just showcasing all the joy of every single season.”
Changing food culture
Looking back at recipes she wrote for Farmers Weekly around 25 years ago has also highlighted how dramatically British food culture has changed.
One recipe described what would now be recognised as a vegan chocolate cake, while a bean pâté would today be more likely to be called hummus.
“There’s that more foreign aspect, I suppose, to some of the wording,” Philippa says. “For a lot of young people, hummus is like an everyday staple.”
Despite those changing influences, the foundation of her cooking remains British farm produce, though her recipes include influences from French and Middle Eastern cooking.
© Otherwise Publishing
Producer stories
Farmers and artisan food businesses also feature throughout the books, reflecting Philippa’s belief that consumers should understand more about where their food originates.
“There’s always a story behind everything you eat,” she says. “I just want to encourage people to get to know their local producer or get to know their local farm shop.”
Buying through farm shops and local producers is not necessarily more expensive, but it could give consumers greater confidence in understanding what they are purchasing, she adds.
Seasonality inevitably changes the balance of the recipes. Summer brings tomatoes, courgettes and abundant vegetables, while autumn marks the arrival of game and heartier dishes.
Winter becomes more meat-focused, with slow-cooked dishes coming to the fore, while spring brings greens including nettles and wild garlic.
“There are joys in every single season, and I really cannot say which is my favourite,” Philippa says. “It’s a bit like asking ‘Who’s your favourite child?’”
Cooking for farmers
Philippa has also designed the recipes with busy farming households in mind, keeping ingredient lists manageable and making greater use of store-cupboard staples.
“When I’ve been writing this, I was thinking practicality – what is in the store cupboard,” she says. “A lot of farmers do live out in the sticks. They haven’t got big supermarkets nearby.”
She hopes the straightforward recipes might also encourage farmers to make time for their own meals during demanding working days.
“I think they are probably getting better at looking after themselves. I hope that all the recipes that I have written will inspire them to do that.”
Farming roots
Philippa’s connection with seasonal cooking began in childhood. Born and raised on an East Sussex farm, she remembers both her grandmothers cooking and having fresh meat and vegetables readily available.
Farmhouse traditions now enjoying renewed popularity, such as pickling and fermenting, were simply part of everyday life. “I remember my grandmother, and she was so frugal,” she says. “I learnt so much from her.”
Philippa later trained in Cordon Bleu cookery at the Eastbourne School of Domestic Economy and was a regional finalist on MasterChef in 2001, which led to her Farmers Weekly column.
She subsequently established the Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen cookery school and now concentrates on demonstrations, pop-ups and writing.
The books, she says, allow that teaching to continue in another form. “Just enjoy every single season and enjoy all the beautiful ingredients that are grown in every season, because there is something special in each one.”
For more information visit myseasonalkitchen.co.uk
