8 winter harvest recipes

We think of late autumn and early winter as a time to wind down and cocoon as long nights and cold, brittle days approach. Colourful summer fare, grilled and eaten outdoors, is past us now, and if we’re honest, we’ve had enough of hamburgers, zucchini, and corn. But that doesn’t mean there are no foods to celebrate in this season. There are vegetables that taste their very best right now—leeks, onions, potatoes, all the root vegetables and cabbage relations—many are enhanced by a touch of frost, and none has yet been subjected to months in storage. Late-harvest fruits, such as apples, pears, and persimmons, and autumn-picked nuts, such as walnuts, chestnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts, are still near or at their peak. It’s easy now to find fresh Ontario lamb at the butcher’s, as well as duck, goose, and other birds—and this is also the season when the turkeys are getting fat!