November recipes

Curried celeriac

Celeriac works really well in this curry as the roasted cubes soak up the flavours of the spices. Serve with steamed rice for a warming vegan dinner.

Duck

With a rich, gamey flavour, duck can handle being paired with strong, punchy flavours. It has a thick layer of fat covering it that needs to be rendered, but this makes for delicious meat. The breast is best eaten medium or blushing pink inside; the legs should be slow-cooked or confited, as they do in France. Take a look at more duck recipes here.

Hoisin duck

Serve this sticky hoisin duck with vegetable fried rice for a speedy weeknight dinner to feed two. The secret to good fried rice is using cooked, fridge-cold rice. This gets crispy and fluffy without the worry of it overcooking, breaking down and becoming mushy.

Dates

Dates are the fruit of date palms, which originate in the Middle East. The fruit grows in clusters at the top of the palms, more than 50 feet off the ground. They have an intense sweetness and mild fruitiness, making them great to use in both savoury and sweet dishes.

Peanut butter and date flapjacks

Turn a handful of storecupboard ingredients into an easy bake. Mixed seeds and a peanut butter drizzle make these flapjacks look impressive but they only need 10 minutes hands-on time.

Leeks

From the same family as onions and garlic but with a sweeter flavour. Choose small or medium leeks, as larger ones tend to be a bit woody. Leeks are incredibly versatile and can be used in place of onions in most recipes – just remember to cook them well, as they can be raw-tasting and stringy if undercooked. Discover more leek recipes here.

Leek carbonara

The oniony kick of leeks adds a richness to classic carbonara. Freeze any left-over egg whites in a small sealed container – they defrost quickly and are handy for making a pavlova or Swiss meringue buttercream.

Leek fritters

Softened leeks and cheddar cheese come together in these golden fritters – serve with a watercress salad for an easy veggie dinner, or top with avocado for a weekend brunch.

Caramelised baby leeks with balsamic

The balsamic vinegar adds sweet and sour notes to the savoury, oniony depth of the baby leeks. Serve these alongside a simple roast chicken or fish.