The real benefit of growing your own vegetables is being able to eat seasonally. However, it is easy for anyone to choose vegetables that are in season as the basis of their diet. Not only are seasonal vegetables fresh, plentiful and well priced but they can also be sourced more locally and so will have travelled fewer miles to reach us which makes for sustainable consumption as well.

Another benefit is that by making an effort to eat seasonally we will actually vary our diets and include vegetables that we may not have tried before, giving us a healthy balance and a variety of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that each fferent vegetable contains.

What follows is a list of  the seasonal vegetables of winter and a selection of recipes from this site to encourage you cook and enjoy them. If you search the site for these winter vegetables there may other recipes that have been posted in the past that you can enjoy.

I hope this will encourage you to eat seasonally and that you will try out one of the many recipes on this site that uses winter vegetables.

 

Beetroot:    can be roasted, baked in cakes, pickled, made into soup or used to colour Easter eggs. Here I have used it to add colour to Pink Pickled Turnips or Turshi Left 

 

 

Broccoli: quick, easy and very tasty in Angie’s Spaghetti with Cauliflower and Broccolini 

 

 

 

 

 

Brussels sprouts: an excellent and delicious way to cook brussels sprouts is Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

 

 

 

Cabbage: Red cabbage and the other winter vegetables are a great combination in Roasted Red Cabbage, Sausage, Apple and Pumpkin

 

 

 

 

 

Carrots: A real winter comfort food using carrots is Slow Baked Lamb Shanks with Polenta 

 

 

 

 

 

Cauliflower

Can be cooked as a delicious soup as well as being a great accompiniment to any meat when steamed or cooked as cauliflower gratin.

 

 

Celery: is used in many recipes that use the classic mirepoix, the combination of celery, carrots and onion that  is used in the warming  Vegetable Pasties and Soup 

 

 

 

Choko: Small chokos are so tender when steamed and dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon.  This is a dessert: Choko and Apple Pie with Streusel Topping

 

 

Fennel: is wonderful thinly sliced in salads or sliced and baked with fish.

 

 

 

Jerusalem Artichokes: are really delicious baked with other vegetables in the oven.

 

 

 

Kale: This hearty minestrone uses winter vegetables and the best of summer’s beans: Minestrone with Borlotti Beans and Kale

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kohlrabi is delicious grated or sliced thinly in coleslaw and cooked in soups. Also try steaming the small and tender leaves

 

 

Leeks: This recipe brings together a combination of winter vegetables; Roasted Potato, Cabbage, Leek and Bacon Pie

 

 

Onions: This is just one of the many recipes using onions on this site;

the warming: Ossobucco alla Fiorentina 

Parsnips: are delicious baked and in Spiced Parsnip and Potato Soup

Potatoes:  Here is one of the many recipes that use potatoes, the quick and satisfying Frico of Potato and Cheese

Pumpkin: What could be more warming in winter than Roast Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup 

Silverbeet:  Silverbeet is such a long growing vegetable that lends itself to so many ways of cooking it. Why not try Silverbeet Dolmades

 

 

 

 

 

Spinach:  can be used to make Spinach Frittata

 

 

 

 

 

Swedes  Roasted Root Vegetable soup uses swedes to give their unique flavour.

 

 

 

Sweet potato    Autumn quiche is perfect using the multi-coloured varieties of sweet potato.  

 

 

Turnips: We have already posted the link to Pink Pickled Turnips which also use beetroot to add their distinctive classic colour.

 

 

 

Yacon: can be sliced into salads and fruit salads as well as being baked or stir fried.