Need some fall flavour inspiration? Here’s how to make the most of cranberries, squash and artichokes
Now that cooler weather is on the horizon, it’s time to start cooking with the vibrant flavours of fall. We asked three bakers and chefs around Ontario to share how they prepare their favourite autumnal ingredients.
Big River Baking Co.’s cranberry brie sourdough loaf can be the star of any meal.Supplied
Cranberries
Warren Dix, founder of Big River Baking Co. in Bracebridge, says the business’s signature loaf, a cranberry brie sourdough, is a hit with his customers throughout the year, not just in the fall – that said, it makes a pretty good addition to any Thanksgiving table.
Dix opened Big River Baking Co. to fill a needed gap in the town’s baking space – there hadn’t been a fully-operational bakery there since 1988. With a variety of different loaves (including a delectable-sounding honey walnut), it’s the cranberry brie that customers salivate for. Why is that? Dix says, “in conversation with our customers, it seems the mild flavour of this sourdough with the creaminess of the brie cheese against the tartness of the cranberries when you bite into it just works.”
Cranberry season runs from late August to the end of October in Ontario, and those tart, ruby-hued berries often make it to the table in the form of a side as a sauce – something to cut through yummy butter and starch on a bright Thanksgiving table. But Big River Baking Co.’s cranberry brie sourdough loaf can be the star of any meal. Dix suggests using this loaf for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, as toast with something slathered on top or for “a next-level grilled cheese!”
Getty Images
Squash
Squash is the quintessential fall ingredient. There are many different types of winter squash including butternut, acorn, buttercup, delicata, spaghetti, pumpkin; but John Black, chef de cuisine at the Feast On-certified Miijidaa in Guelph, says delicata is his favourite. “It has such nutty and sweet flavours that pair so well with those classic fall flavours. When roasted, its characteristics are enhanced and it lends itself to so many flavour profiles,” Black says.
Miijidaa, from the Ojibway language meaning “let’s eat,” focuses on where Canadian food began – with First Nations, Black says – followed by European influences. Squash is vital to that approach, and Miijidaa sources it at the Guelph Farmers’ Market from “local purveyors that grow all the varieties we come to love and look forward to within the fall season,” he says.
“Ontario squash is an integral menu item that is a staple for Miijidaa every fall season – we look forward to building menu items around. Similar to a protein, it can be the star of a dish and what we build our flavour profiles around for appetizers, salads, and vegetarian main course menu items.”
The restaurant’s 3 Sisters Salad is a perfect example of how squash can shine in a dish; made with roasted butternut squash, marinated chickpeas and corn, it’s served with toasted pumpkin seeds, puffed wild rice and a maple mustard vinaigrette. Butternut squash also adds a hint of sweetness to the restaurant’s soppressata pizza, which is topped with caramelized onions, mozzarella, chili flakes, rosemary honey and arugula.
Black says the best way to use squash to its fullest flavour this season is by roasting it with its skin on. Another way is to “shave [the squash] paper thin and drop it into a pickling liquid surrounded with fall spice flavours such as nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and clove.” At home, Black likes to make butternut squash soup for his children, where he sometimes sneaks in other autumn faves like apple and pear.
Supplied
Artichokes
There’s just something about artichokes. Pickled, fried, poached, this nutty-tasting vegetable is delicious no matter how it’s prepared. Yet, big artichokes are intimidating, and a dreaded prep job, says Matthew Simpson, executive chef of The Springwood in Whitby. You have to pull the leaves off through a process called turning, then get them to water before they oxidize. So, Smith suggests cooking small artichokes, especially if you’re a first-timer with this ingredient.
It’s worth the learning curve, though. Artichokes are one of those great foods for seasonal transition. “All of those things that are kind of quintessentially fall aren’t quite there as the summer’s dwindling down – so it’s kind of exciting to get something that is at its prime in this kind of grey area window between summer and fall,” says Simpson.
The Springwood, which opened in May 2023, is intensely focused on using seasonal produce, sourcing nearly everything from the local farms and producers in the province, getting spirits and chocolate, and a few other ingredients, from around the country. Artichokes hit their stride from August through October, with September as a good sweet spot to grill a few with salt, pepper, and oil before packing up the barbecue for winter.
But, Simpson says, you really can’t go wrong with a fried artichoke, either.
Seeing red
This fall, cranberry is all over cocktail menus. Here are three seasonal sips that make good use of this tart ingredient
Wellington Brewery in Guelph
The brewery’s Good Odds cranberry and orange sour is flavoured with cranberries, keeping it seasonal, while a splash of citrus makes for what the brewery calls a bright, playful drink.
Muskoka Brewery in Bracebridge
Muskoka Brewery’s Winter Stout is a perfect cool-weather brew. Featuring cranberry and chocolate flavours with subtle notes of roasted coffee, this seasonal stout is rich and full-bodied.
The Black Horse Pub in Peterborough
Mojitos are typically summertime drinks, but the Black Horse Pub brings this tipple into the fall by adding cranberry and soda.
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.