Autumn on the vegetable shelf

As summer migrates to the southern hemisphere, the produce at Boscastle Farm Shop begins to change. Autumn encourages a shift in the kitchen too, with vegetables that are made for roasting, slow cooking, soups, stews and generous Sunday lunches.

At Hillsborough Farm, above the coast near Boscastle, the shop stocks fresh fruit and vegetables alongside its own farm produce, deli food, bakery, butchery and grocery essentials. The range changes with the season and availability, so a visit can be as much about seeing what looks good on the day as arriving with a fixed shopping list.

For anyone looking for seasonal vegetables in Cornwall, autumn is a particularly rewarding time to fill a basket.

Root vegetables come into their own

Carrots, potatoes and parsnips are dependable autumn staples, and each earns its place in the kitchen. Carrots can be roasted until their edges caramelise, added to soups or grated into a simple salad. Potatoes need little introduction: roast them alongside a joint, mash them with plenty of butter, or cut them into chunks for a tray of mixed vegetables.

Parsnips have a sweetness that works especially well with the colder months. Try cutting them into batons, tossing them with oil, seasoning and a little honey, then roasting until golden. For something more substantial, add carrots, onions and potatoes to the tray and serve alongside sausages or a roast.

Squash and pumpkins for autumn cooking

Pumpkins and squash are among the vegetables that announce autumn most clearly. Their firm flesh and natural sweetness make them useful far beyond Halloween.

Roast chunks of squash with garlic, sage and olive oil, then serve them as a side dish or stir them through pasta with grated cheese. Alternatively, turn roasted squash into soup with onion, vegetable stock and a little ginger. A swirl of cream or a spoonful of crème fraîche will finish it nicely, although the soup is perfectly good without either.

A pumpkin can also become the basis of a savoury pie, risotto or curry. The trick is to treat it as an ingredient rather than a decoration. Its flavour responds well to heat, herbs and spices, making it one of the most adaptable autumn vegetables.

Leeks, broccoli and greens

As the days shorten, vegetables such as leeks and broccoli become useful additions to everyday cooking. Leeks are particularly good in soups, gratins and pies, where their mild flavour works with cheese, potatoes and cream. They can also be sliced and softened slowly in butter before being folded through mashed potato.

Cornish-grown broccoli has featured among Boscastle Farm Shop’s autumn produce, and it needs very little doing to it. Steam or boil it briefly, then serve with butter, lemon and black pepper. For a more substantial dish, roast broccoli until the edges crisp, then add toasted nuts and a little grated cheese.

Easy autumn ideas

It’s cooking that suits an evening when rain taps the windows outside.

For a roast vegetable tray, combine potatoes, carrots, parsnips and squash with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Roast at 200°C, turning once, until tender and browned. Add sausages for the final part of cooking, or serve the vegetables with roast meat and gravy.

For a warming leek and potato soup, soften two sliced leeks and an onion in butter, add four chopped potatoes and enough vegetable stock to cover, then simmer until everything is tender. Blend until smooth, season well and serve with fresh bread.

For a quick autumn pasta, roast cubes of squash with garlic and sage while the pasta cooks. Toss the two together with a little pasta water, butter and grated hard cheese. It is simple, filling and makes good use of one of the season’s most versatile vegetables.

Shop seasonally in Boscastle

The pleasure of buying vegetables from a farm shop is partly the food itself and partly the sense of what is happening beyond the shelves. Seasonal produce reflects the fields, weather and growing conditions of the time of year. At Boscastle Farm Shop, the fresh vegetable selection is part of a wider range that includes produce from the farm and ingredients sourced locally wherever possible.

The farm shop’s own kitchen follows the same seasonal approach. Its deli range is made from scratch, using home-grown vegetables from the fields wherever possible, with locally sourced ingredients used alongside them. That means the idea of seasonal cooking extends beyond the shop floor and into the food prepared on site.

It is also worth remembering that autumn does not arrive with a single, fixed list of vegetables. What is available can change from week to week. If a particular ingredient is on the shopping list, it is sensible to check what is in store before setting off.

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A basket for the colder months

A good autumn basket need not be complicated. Pick up a few potatoes, carrots and parsnips, add a squash or pumpkin if available, then look for leeks, broccoli and whatever seasonal greens catch the eye. From there, dinner can go in several directions.

Add a loaf from the bakery and some local cheese and there is the makings of a simple supper. Choose something from the butchery and the same vegetables can become a Sunday roast. Or buy enough for soup and keep the rest for roasting later in the week.

Boscastle Farm Shop has fresh vegetables among its regular shop categories, alongside fruit, dairy and eggs, bakery goods, deli food and butchery. The shop is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, with click and collect and delivery also available on selected days.

For visitors exploring North Cornwall, it is an easy place to combine food shopping with a walk. The farm sits beside National Trust farmland, less than 50 yards from the South West Coast Path, with the Atlantic beyond.

Autumn is a good reminder that seasonal cooking does not have to be elaborate. Buy what is fresh, cook it properly and give it enough time to develop flavour. At this time of year, that might mean a tray of roasted roots, a pot of leek soup or squash bubbling into a supper. The vegetables change as the season moves on.