Cookbook of the Week: Greenfeast: autumn, winter by Nigel Slater

There’s no denying that it’s autumn, now. Getting out of bed means having chilly toes, and diving into a cozy sweater before putting on water for coffee.

The boxes I bring up from the garden are loaded with leeks and winter squash instead of tomatoes and cucumbers, and on weekends, you’ll find me roaming Vermont in search of orchards with the largest selections of heirloom apples. These cool weather ingredients means that my approach to cooking is changing, too.

And that’s why I’ve just pulled Nigel Slater’s Greenfeast: autumn, winter off of my bookshelf. I discovered the petite, hardcover book at Beacon Hill Books in Boston last year, and was charmed by its size, the cover photo, and the brief, poetic headnotes. Beneath “Oats, Dried Mulberries, Date Syrup,” it reads: “The solace of porridge. The sweetness of dried fruits.” Below “Artichokes, Winter Roots, Smoked Salt,” “Deep drifts of mash. Toasted, smoky vegetables.”

“Drifts of mash” sounds like something that would cause me to slip off a dirt road in my car, or a cover band that plays TV show theme songs, but in actuality, it’s a side dish made from celery root and Jerusalem artichokes slicked with butter and broth.

The book continues in this fashion: Short and sweet vegetable dishes made flavorful and cozy with herbs, cream and broth.

If you’re not sure where to start with items like cauliflower, mushrooms, beans, Brussels sprouts and squash, this book would be a good one to have on the shelf.