Autumn Flavours

After a scorching summer, the freshness of autumn brings us pleasant and more moderate temperatures. It’s time to put away your short clothes, pull one or two jackets out of the drawers and rediscover some recipes for warming, comforting dishes. Chef Tiago Lopes’s vegetarian suggestions include autumnal colours and intensity, in a perfect combination of flavours for an early evening with friends or family. Use fresh ingredients, whenever possible bought from local, organic producers. Autumn is ideal for good conversations – talk to the farmers, ask for tips for cooking their produce, and perhaps you’ll discover an old family recipe or a gastronomic secret. Bom apetite.

CREAM OF LEEK AND PUMPKIN SOUP WITH ALMONDS

Recipe for 4 people

Organic Ingredients:

800 g Hokkaido pumpkin
140 g onion
200 g leek
6 g garlic
60 g butter
20 g almonds
“flower of salt” to taste

Method:

Wash and chop the vegetables. Heat the butter, add the onion and the leek and fry gently for a little. Add the pumpkin, season with salt to taste and cover with water. Cook for 20 minutes, remove from the heat and purée with a blender. Finally, add the chopped almonds.

WILD MUSHROOM PIE WITH THYME

Recipe for 4 people

Organic Ingredients:

6 g unpeeled garlic
170 g onion
120 g Portobello mushrooms
120 g Paris mushrooms
200 ml milk
500 g puff pastry
10 g thyme
50 g flour
olive oil to taste
“flower of salt” to taste
black pepper to taste

Method:

Chop the onion and the garlic and slice the mushrooms. Fry the onion gently in a little olive oil, and add the mushrooms until they are soft, add the thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Add the milk, let it boil a little and thicken with the flour until the texture is creamy. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Roll out the puff pastry using a rolling-pin, press into the dishes and add the filling. Bake in a hot oven (220o C) for 12 minutes.

Serve with a seasonal salad and a red wine from the Alentejo’s Quinta dos Outeiros Altos – the first doq alentejano with organic certification.

CHESTNUT CRÈME CARAMEL

Recipe for 4 people

Organic Ingredients:

1 kg chestnuts
7 dl milk
1 piece of orange peel
1 stick of cinnamon
7 eggs
300 g sugar

For the caramel:

100 g water
100 g sugar

Method:

Boil the chestnuts in plenty of water. Peel them and purée them in a mouli food mill. Heat the milk with the orange peel and the cinnamon stick, until it boils. Separately, beat the eggs with the sugar until you obtain a smooth cream. Pour the milk little by little into the chestnut purée, stirring well, and then add to the egg mixture. Remove the cinnamon stick and the orange peel. Heat the sugar and water until you obtain a golden caramel. Pour into a crème caramel mould and add the prepared mixture. Cook in a bain-marie for 20 minutes in a hot oven (170oC). Once cooled, remove from the mould and keep in the fridge. Serve well chilled.

About the author

With an experience of over 15 years in the Hospitality and Catering, passing Hotels 4 and 5 stars, Chef Tiago Lopes advocates for a sustainable kitchen.