december at the market
foods in season, eating notes + a playlist for cooking
Welcome to mama eats, a weekly newsletter inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. This week’s post, December at the market, is free to all readers. I try to provide as much free content as possible, however, this newsletter is a labor of love and I am a busy mother of three. If you have the means, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
December. There is a fizz of anticipation in the air as we lead up to winter solstice, Christmas, and the end of another year. We seek out inner warmth of comforting foods, gatherings with friends and families, candles and twinkly lights to hedge against the very dark and cold days. The winter solstice on the 21st marks the shortest day of the year, and with it a gradual return to the light. This is one of the slowest and richest times of the year in our house as we gather around the fire, make things together, play board games and watch movies with stove popped popcorn. More than ever, we find comfort in the well worn tracks of rituals, and nostalgic things of all kinds that bring comfort and joy. More than ever, I try to keep things simple and slow to sink in and enjoy these days.
December in food, for me, is all about warmth, decadence, and richness- in textures, flavors, and colors. Nuts, marzipan, chestnuts, rosemary and bay leaves, cranberries, prunes and dates, chocolate, wine, radicchio and endive, citrus, cardamom and juniper berries…these all feature prominently in my cooking this month. Luxurious treats to share, baked goods, and dishes that are made especially on holidays. I so look forward to stollen, panforte, pannetone, chocolate/chestnut prune tart, latkes, rosemary chile almonds, caramel oranges, christmas tortellini en brodo, and other celebratory dishes that mark the season. Sparkling wines of all kinds, but especially Lambrusco for its red rich warmth. The beauty of celebratory foods is that everyone has different ones. Each is steeped in culture, tradition, nostalgia and ritual…I’d love to know what yours are.
The produce available at the market this time of year heavily revolves around leafy greens, cruciferous vegatables, citrus, and stored crops from fall of apples, pears, persimmon, winter squash, and nuts. Leeks begin to become readily available here this month, and I begin to cook often with them in place of onions. They are so delicious in soups, or sauteed down gently till jammy, then heaped on toast or used as the base of a dip or risotto.
Celeriac and turnips are both underused and wonderful additions this month and are delicious roasted, mashed/pureed (alone or added to regular potato mash), or raw for salads. If you can find the small white Tokyo turnips, they are wonderful cut in half, seared in a hot oiled pan till caramelized and tender- throw the chopped leaf part in the last few minutes to wilt, and finish with flaky salt.
Radicchio and endive are my winter salad staples. They are so beautiful with their reds, speckles, and greens, and also have a nice crunch. They have a bitterness which is very welcome this time of year in contrast to all the sweet and heavier foods, and can be balanced out with tart and sweet vinaigrettes, and by adding a fat component (parmesan, toasted nuts, buttery olives) and/or a sweet component (sweet dressing, sweet fruit- persimmon, apple, pear, citrus). Other chicories such as escarole are wonderful lightly cooked- I often make a very simple soup with escarole and chickpeas that’s delicious (something like this).
This month, I also begin to heavily rely on simple, starchy soups for warmth and heft. The trio of pasta e lenticchie, pasta e ceci (p 171 in cookbook), and pasta fagioli (p 173) are all essentially flavored beans cooked with pasta- very cozy and filling, and most people love them. Finish with some chile flakes and a drizzle of strong, good green olive oil. Pasta e patate is another favorite this time of the year. Pair any of these with some kind of fresh salad and you’ve got dinner.
For something sweet, a favorite this month is chocolate bark- I just melt dark chocolate, mix in toasted nuts and orange zest and spread out on parchment paper with flaky sea salt over the top, let it sit and break into pieces to keep in the fridge. Eating some with a seasonal fruit like clementines or pomegranate is incredibly delicious. I also always make some red wine poached pears this month, which are so good with some whipped or ice cream- I save one of the poached pears to slice and bake onto the top of chocolate cake. Sweet yeasted wreath breads like this one are so adaptable to many fillings and always look beautiful for special mornings. Rice pudding is always so comforting on a cold day, and this chocolate, olive oil, and rosemary salted shortbread is a favorite and keeps well to have on hand for visitors or gifting. I always seek out the warmth of ginger now in many ways- in our well worn ritual of baking gingerbread men, boiled for a strongly warming tea, and in rich ginger cakes. The last thing to say is that I like to keep a bowl of in shell nuts on the table- they are beautiful to look at, they are delicious to eat, they are great fun to crack open.
I hope this post brings you some inspiration for cooking this month. Please enjoy this cozy Christmas playlist which I’m listening to this month. Happiest holidays x A
For paid subscribers: please enjoy these two recipes from my ebook for spiced nut mix and gooey baked “brie” dip, which are perfect for the holiday season whilst entertaining. Thank you so much for your support. x