Chill Seekers

Think of summer produce and tropical fruit, fresh salads and zingy cocktails come to mind. But when winter rolls around it’s time to turn over a new leaf in the kitchen. These ingredients that flourish in frosty weather are ideal for slow-cooked dishes like hearty soups and stews. Best enjoyed by the fire and followed by a rich hot chocolate of course.

Cavolo Nero

Cavolo Nero is an Italian cabbage with dark green, almost black leaves and an intense flavour. Also known as Tuscan Kale or black cabbage, this variety originates from Tuscany where it was used in traditional peasant fare. To release its strong, meaty flavour, Cavolo Nero should be slow-cooked. While it’s a versatile ingredient, it particularly complements wintery soups, beans, lentils and fish and meat dishes.

Coriander

Coriander will add some oomph to casseroles, soups and stir fries. Each part of the plant is edible, but the dried seeds and fresh leaves are used most often in cooking. Coriander is usually sold in ground form or as whole dried seeds, which can be heated or roasted on a pan prior to grinding them. This process enhances the herb’s aroma, which along with its flavour is quite pungent and can be an acquired taste.

Ocean Trout

The life of this fish begins as a rainbow trout swimming in a freshwater stream. Later, it’s taken to grow in the cool waters of Macquarie Harbour in south-west Tasmania. As the trout develops reserves to combat the winter cold, its fat levels peak – resulting in a firm-fleshed, richly flavoured fish. Ocean trout’s high fat content paired with its trademark rosy orange flesh makes it a pretty fish dish for a chilly night.

Navel Orange

In Australia, this particular orange variety thrives from June to August. It’s said that the fruit is a hybrid between a mandarin and a Pomelo, originating from ancient cultivation. The Navel is usually seedless, sweet and zesty – great as a snack or an ingredient added to toasty mulled wine. Even better, oranges offer a super vitamin C hit to ward off winter sniffles. In fact, just one orange covers your recommended daily intake of the vitamin.

Quince

This pretty pink fruit is not as widely-used, but works wonders as part of winter desserts. Even though the round fruit has golden skin at first, cooking it for a lengthy period brings out its ruby-red hue. Since quinces can’t be eaten raw, they are transformed through stewing, baking, poaching and roasting. Once soft, they’re easily turned into preserves, jellies and puddings. But be quick – quince season is short and this nice-looking number doesn’t last long on the shelves.

Other ingredients in season for winter:

Apples, avocados, blood limes, bok choy, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, eel, fennel, fresh peppercorns, garlic, ginger, Jerusalem artichokes, hazelnuts, horseradish, kohlrabi, leeks, lemons, mandarins, marjoram, mature gruyere, okra, oregano, oysters, parsnips, persimmons, potatoes, redfish, silverbeet, strawberries, swedes, tarragon, tuna, turnips, Vietnamese mint, walnuts, witlof, zucchini.

By Jenna Chaitowitz

Image: Flickr