Mark Hix’s recipe for roast pumpkin and pickled walnut salad

I try to grow a few varieties of squash every season, but in the past couple of years the results have more or less failed me. I originally put that down to the lack of time and attention I’d given those poor plants, but I’m now starting to wonder if the soil in my raised garden beds overlooking Lyme Bay in Dorset is actually right for them.I’m not giving up just yet, though, and this year I’ll be trying different varieties in a different bed that I’ve prepared and composted over the winter with seaweed mulch. As luck would have it, however, my friend Rob Corbett came to the rescue a couple of weeks ago by giving me several specimens when he delivered some wine from his Castlewood vineyard a few miles away in east Devon. If you know your gourds even a little, you will also know that squashes keep for months, which is handy, because they ideally need to cure and ripen before use

Premium peaches and luscious lychees: Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for January

Apricots are here for a good time, not a long time. “We’re eating some really good Victorian ones at the moment, then towards the end of this month we’ll get into the Tasmanian ones,” says Graham Gee, senior buyer at the Happy Apple in Melbourne.He’s selling them for $5 to $8 a kilo, depending on variety; his favourite is the Moorpark apricot. “They’re not the most beautiful to look at,” he says. “But the flavour is so rich

How to turn excess hard veg into fridge-raid sauerkraut – recipe | Waste not

The dry-salting fermentation method used to make sauerkraut works brilliantly on almost any firm vegetable, so you can happily explore beyond the traditional cabbage. I had a couple of carrots and a piece of squash that needed saving, so I turned them into a golden kraut with ginger, turmeric and a little orange zest for brightness. Use whatever you have to hand and let the ingredients lead your creativity.Fermenting is an enjoyable way to make the most of a seasonal ingredient or to use up surplus produce. At our restaurant, whenever we had a glut that needed using up, we used to rely on fermentation, because not only did it saves us money in the long term, it also helped us to create imaginative, delicious new products to cook with

Hurrah for veganism and Victorian sewers | Letters

As a vegan of nearly 40 years, I agree with much of what Dean Weston says about animal welfare (Letters, 30 December). But as a former civil engineer, I cannot overlook the massive category mistakes in his assertion that the government’s animal welfare strategy “treats animal suffering the way Victorian engineers treated cholera. Add a valve here, a filter there, and never question the sewer itself.”Victorian engineers did not “treat” cholera, but were arguably more effective than the medical profession in dealing with the disease. They reduced the prevalence of cholera precisely by constructing adequate sanitation

What can I use in vegetarian curries instead of coconut milk? | Kitchen aide

I want to make more vegetarian curries, but most call for a tin of coconut milk and I’m trying to cut down on saturated fats. What can I use instead? Jill, via emailCoconut milk brings silkiness and sweet richness to curries, and also mellows spices, so any substitute will likely change the nature of the dish. That said, if you really want to avoid the white stuff, Karan Gokani, author of Indian 101, would simply replace it with vegetable stock. Another easy swap (if you’re not averse to dairy) is yoghurt, says John Chantarasak, chef and co-owner of AngloThai in London, which is handy, because “that’s normally hanging about in the fridge”.Not all curries involve coconut milk, however, and it’s these that perhaps offer a better solution to Jill’s conundrum

Kenji Morimoto’s recipe for root vegetable rösti with crisp chickpeas

I’m a sucker for a rösti, and I truly believe it makes the best breakfast, brunch – or any meal, really. This one leans into the amazing varieties of root vegetables we have at our disposal, and it is especially stunning when layered and presented with all of the other elements: a bold mustard aïoli, crisp curried chickpeas, and an easy parsley and red onion salad that is quick-pickled to provide an acidic finish to a satisfying dish.These rösti are easy to customise (although I’d suggest going for a combination of at least two root vegetables); they freeze well, too, making those lazy weekend brunches that much easier.Prep 30 min Cook 30 min Serves 2-4For the chickpeas400g tin chickpeas, drained 2 tbsp olive oil ½ tsp salt 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp smoked paprikaFor the salad80g red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 10g parsley leaves Zest of 1 lemon, plus juice of ½ 1 tsp sumac 1 pinch saltFor the mustard aïoli 100g mayonnaise 1 tbsp English mustard Juice of ½ lemonFor the rösti300g root vegetables (such as beetroot, sweet potato, parsnip), peeled and grated80g red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 2 tbsp plain flour 1 egg Neutral oil, for cookingHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Pat the drained chickpeas dry with kitchen towel, then tip them on to the lined sheet