Go Gourmet With Autumn and Winter Veggies

Google the term 'gourmet' and the general consensus is that it refers to any food that is nicer, more unusual, of better quality or more sophisticated than its ordinary counterparts.

- By Alice Spenser-Higgs

And yes, veggies can definitely be gourmet!

There are plenty of autumn and winter veggies to choose from. Think of the lime-green cauliflower 'Romanesco' that looks as ornate as a Papal sceptre, the jewel-like red-and-gold beetroot, the heavily veined Savoy cabbage or the crisp red-and-white leaves of radicchio.

Brussels sprouts may not be on everyone's list of gourmet vegetables, but freshly cooked spouts have the most delectable nutty flavour, especially when enhanced with a dab of butter. Kohlrabi is another unusual vegetable that is approached with caution because we never quite know what to do with it!

Purple broccoli is a royal colour, while Broccoli Raap 'Spring Rapini' is a sprouting broccoli with many side shoots but no central head, and many small, tasty leaves that are more like those of mustard.

These days, carrots come in so many colours, a veritable rainbow blend of red, purple, orange, yellow and white, that we dare not exclude them.

The common denominator of the above is that all are heirloom veggies, with a pedigree of centuries. There is a certain thrill in growing a vegetable with an ancestral lineage longer than your own, or veggies that come from a region endowed with romance.

All these vegetables can be sown in April, with the brassicas, especially Brussels sprouts, getting into the ground as early as possible.