What to cook in October

October is the month of color change. Nature turns from green to orange, yellow, and burgundy, and some delicious treasures show up at the farmer’s market. So what can you cook in October? I recommend trying the first mushrooms, squash and butternuts, and the various cabbages that hit the shelves. But you should also try apples, pears and grapes.

I must confess that when the fall starts I ease into it using seasonal fruits and adding it to salads and savory recipes. But October has more than apple, pears and grapes to offer, this is why I made this grocery list for you. Here is a list of recipes already available to make your shopping easier, give you new ideas for varied meals and recipes, and bring an Italian flair to your table. Have a great October!

Why you will love this post

– Each recipe is made with at least one seasonal vegetable, so you are sure to get all the nutrients you need!

– If you make any of this recipe, you will bring some Italian flair to your table.

– October dinners prep has never been so easy and varied!

Apples, Pears and Grapes

“Pears used to be called “butter fruit” for its soft, butter-like texture”. (Source: click here).

Pear season starts in October and I love pears for their tremendous versatility in sweet and savoury recipes. They go very well with cheese, especially Gorgonzola, a type of Italian blue cheese. And apples are sensational too, simply sliced in an autumnal salad. Try this classic October recipes and add some seasonal fruits for a different taste!

Carrot

“Forget orange. You can get carrots in other natural hues of white, yellow and a deep shade of purple, if you look for them. Funnily enough, the first documented carrots were actually purple or white in color”. (Source: click here).

Carrots are for me one of the best examples of no food waste. You can make roasted carrots and toss them with carrot top pesto!

Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli

“Broccoli was grown mainly in Italy since the Roman Empire until the 16th century when a royal marriage brought the vegetable to France”. (Source: click here).

Here we are! Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are coming! And while it’s getting cold outside, bring a cozy roasted cauliflower with asiago and a delicious and rich stuffed cabbage roll to the table.

Mushrooms

“The Italian variety widely known outside Italy is porcini mushrooms. They grow on the ground in hardwood forests, fruiting in the summer to fall. They famously grow in Italy, but they also grow in parts throughout Europe, North American, and even New Zealand and South Africa”. (Source: click here).

Mushrooms are great in pasta or in a frittata. But they are also delicious on their own, simply sauteed with garlic and parsley.

Potatoes

“The vegetable’s existence is quite old age as its domestication dates approximately between 8000 and 5000 BC in Peru or Bolivia, known as the Andes back then”. (Source: click here).

Warm up your kitchen by baking some potatoes or making a pie. This tart recipe is one of my mother’s special dishes that she proudly makes using authentic Venetian ingredients.

Radicchio and Rocket

“Lightly crisp with a slightly bitter taste, radicchio’s shiny, cupped leaves are dark burgundy with contrasting white ribs. It is a favorite in Italy and has been cultivated there since about the 16th century”. (Source: click here)

Radicchio is one of my favorite vegetables. I love its bitter taste and I must confess that I eat it every day when I visit Italy in the fall. My grandfather put radicchio on his pasta e fagioli, a typical Venetian tradition. I love it in salads, especially when mixed with endive. And speaking about salads, any meal is good for a little side dish!

Pumpkin

“The word “pumpkin” showed up for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella”. (Source: click here)

I have to confess that Cinderella was my favorite fairy tale as a little girl and every time I saw a pumpkin, Cinderella came back to mind… until I met Rob 10 years ago and now a pumpkin represents Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin tastes great in a soup or simply pureed as a filling for delicious pumpkin stuffed shells.