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Seasonal Food

Cobnuts

The cobnut is a cultivated variety of hazelnut. The name may come from a game which children used to play with the unshelled nuts - 'cobblenut'. The winning nut in this early version of conkers was named 'the cob'. 

Now that horse chestnuts have taken on the gaming role, cobnuts can be put to much better use - on the plate rather than on the string. The start of the season is traditionally St Philibert's Day on 22 August - try them 'green' when they're moist with a distinctive coconut taste or allow them to mature longer on the tree and turn golden when they'll have a much sweeter flavour.

Whilst the early crops are something to savour, later season offerings are ideal for cooking with. Try them roasted and tossed over salads, once you've rubbed off the skins, dipped into chocolate or ground into tarator - use them anywhere you would hazelnuts.

Try...
Blackmoor Estate or Brogdale for fresh cobnuts and the trees to grow your own

Cook...
Baked Eggs, Ham and Hazelnuts ... Fruit and Nut Biscotti ... Hazelnut Buttered Lamb Chops

Browse...
Read Foraging - Uncover The Wild for information on gathering your own

Hedgerow Fruits

Head out into the countryside this month and make the most of Britain's bountiful hedgerows. There's all manner of treats awaiting - and in these credit crunch times, what could be more frugal than free?

Wild raspberries and early blackberries - or the more common cross of the two, tayberries - are easy to find, even for the city-bound. Canal or road sides, your local park - maybe even your garden if you're lucky.

Search a little harder for wild gooseberries, currants, gages or the tiniest (and tastiest) alpine strawberries - fruits you'd pay a small fortune for in the shops. Try them in a summer pudding or pavlova or simply enjoy them as they are.

Try...
Sloe Motion for all things sloe ... Scrubby Oak Fine Food's blackberry vinegar ... Godminster Vintage's blackcurrant and sloe vodkas

Cook...
Roasted Fruits ... Summer Pudding ... Greengage & Almond Ricotta Trifle

Browse...
Learn more about foraging

Tomatoes and Chillies

Though originally from warmer climes, tomatoes are now stalwarts of the great British summer. This is probably due to how easy they are to grow - even with our unreliable weather. The other great joy of this fruit is their diversity. Plum, Cherry, and Beefsteak varieties are just the start - look out for heirloom varieties with such wonderfully descriptive names as Green Zebra, Giant Oxheart, Banana Legs and Purple Ball. Appearance aside, you'll find these traditional varieties have a much fuller flavour than the rubbery, watery supermarket stock.

Following on the same vine are peppers. One of the up-sides of global warming is that capsicum are becoming increasingly easy to grow in this country. Chillies are particularly hardy and need little more than a fairly sunny spot in which to thrive. Explore the full range from the tiny birds-eye to the milder mulato or cherry bomb - which are ideal for stuffing.

Try...
Extra-hot chilli oil from Stratta ... all things chilli from Chilli Pepper Pete ... spiced tomato sauce from Catherine's Choice ... chilli jams and chutneys from The Chilli Pickle

Cook...
Salad of Broad Beans, Tomatoes & Feta ... Lamb with Peppers & Haricots ... Pissaladiere ... Thai Grilled Watercress Salmon

Browse...
Search FoodFinds for chilli plants to buy ... Find out about tomato & chilli festivals

grouse

If you love game, there is something glorious about August the twelfth, although perhaps the grouse won't agree. Each year, this much anticipated date marks the start of the shooting season and although close relatives the ptarmigan and the snipe are also up for grabs, it's grouse which are the prime target. 

Grouse are a hard catch and a meaty eat so demand is high, hence the price tag, especially at the start of the season (which runs until 10 December in England, Scotland & Wales and 30 November in Northern Ireland). Later in the season prices fall and some argue the meat's flavour increases as the birds age - but they're not held in anywhere near as high regard. Early grouse are wonderful as a sign of what is still to come. Once the shooting season has opened partridge, duck and goose aren't far behind.

Try...
Barningham Estate's oven-ready grouse ... Manor Farm Game's own shot birds ...
Fresh grouse from... Furness Fish, Poultry & Game ... C Lidgate ... Alternative Meats Ltd

Cook...
Roast Grouse ... Partridge, Smoked Eel Tortellini ... Roast Pheasant with Game Chips ... Pheasant with Celery ... Pheasant & Sausage Pie ... Pheasant Casserole ... Pheasant Casserole with Chicken Livers

Browse...
See Wild Game Birds for where to buy and eat game of every kind