Autumn on the Estate
Autumn is one of our favourite times of year here at Middleton Lodge, as the landscape turns into vibrant shades of orange and cosy evenings are spent cuddled up in front of a fire. The best thing about autumn however is the return to comfort food, with homemade soups, stews and roasts that all have a hearty, nostalgic charm.
Our recipes at Middleton Lodge are rooted in the estate, as we plant and then pick the produce needed for our kitchens, or work with our farming community to buy locally. This means that the seasons really dictate a natural rhythm for our menus, and so equinoxes and solstices mark a significant shift at the Coach House restaurant. Harvest season is a really special time for our chefs, with baskets of seasonal produce delivered each morning to our kitchens.
Ross Forder, Head Chef at the Coach House, loves cooking at this time of year: “When autumn arrives, our focus turns to the months of harvest, a time when root vegetables are pulled, berries picked and the meats provided by our local suppliers change. It’s a time of year when we crave warmth and comfort, so the dishes we create need to reflect this,” he says. “Root vegetables from the garden add a heavier texture, pairing perfectly with ingredients such as gnocchi, then we tend to add nuts or seeds to add a final layer of flavour and texture.”
The flavours of autumn are earthly, rich and delicious. Our Sunday lunch menu is one of our favourites, and we have lots of autumnal classics including garden leek and potato soup with a Dale End crumpet and even-better-than-your-mum-makes-them roasts with sirloin beef, old white pork rack or roast Yorkshire chicken breast served with all the trimmings, including seasonal root vegetables.
“Desserts at this time are always exciting, incorporating sweet-stewed berries and fruits from the estate,” adds Forder. “With these, we create sugar-coated pies and crumbles served with custard or our homemade ice cream.” We can’t think of a better way to end a roast than with the spiced estate apple garden crumble served with vanilla ice cream. Oh maybe the sticky toffee pudding.
With lots of cosy corners inside or blankets if you want to dine al fresco amongst the falling leaves, we can’t think of a better way to mark the arrival of autumn.
