In Season: Game on
John Martin, Prime Meats marketing manager: Pork is seeing something of a revival in fortunes at the moment, perhaps benefiting from the inflation in beef and lamb prices over recent months.
A boneless British pork loin or leg with crispy crackling is a great option for a carvery or Sunday roast which should become more popular as autumn approaches.
Several game species are in season in September - the partridge, duck and goose seasons all start on September 1 and the hare, grouse and stag/buck deer seasons have already started.
Ask your meat supplier for one or more of these. If they offer a seasonal mixed diced game, you can create a rich game pie or casserole perfect for those early autumn evenings when the nights are drawing in.
Rachel Sewter, Pauleys fresh produce marketing executive: Our sweet British parsnips are grown in the sandy soils of Norfolk - root vegetables thrive in sandy soil conditions, as the good drainage encourages healthy, long vegetables. September is an excellent month for tasty parsnips.
We recommend adding a spicy roasted parsnip soup to menus in September. Roast roughly chopped parsnips in a hot oven for approximately 10 minutes. Sauté chopped onions & celery until soft, add some korma curry paste and cook for a further minute. Add your roasted parsnips, vegetable stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool, blend well and then add coconut milk. This delicious soup is fabulous served with crunchy parsnip crisps. To make the parsnip crisps, simply deep fry thin slices of parsnip until crisp.
Alan Edmeades, M&J product marketing manager: Fresh Cornish sprats are a plentiful, fast growing species, generally less than 15cm long. Our sprats are caught in in-shore waters on the vessel 'Constant Friend'.
These small firm-fleshed, oil- rich fish are a great under-utilised species, and this fishery is currently in MSC pre- assessment, making them a more sustainable alternative to whitebait.
Whole sprats are simple - simply head and gut them, toss in seasoned flour and pan fry in a little olive oil, serve with bread and butter and a slice of lemon - ideal for a £3.95 starter.
