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Cornish Recipes from The Alverton: Nick’s Autumn Cooking Tips

Our Executive Chef Nick Hodges has put together his top cooking tips and tricks to help you make the most of autumn's abundance.

For our Executive Chef Nick, autumn is one of his favourite times of the year: the South West’s produce calendar is in full swing with an abundance of magical ingredients, from crunchy apples to earthy vegetables like swede, carrots and celeriac. To help you make the most of the season, Nick has compiled his top autumn cooking tips.

All-rounder apples 

The humble apple is one of the best ingredients out there. It’s a really versatile fruit and packs so much flavour too. Every year, around the end of September, the South West’s orchards are laden with fruit. If you’re lucky enough to live in this part of the world, look out for some incredible heritage varieties at your local farm shop such as Mevagissey Pitcher, Ben’s Red and Duke of Cornwall.

We’ve made the most of apple season at The Alverton with an exciting new menu addition: toffee apple brûlée, salt caramel doughnut and blackcurrant sorbet. Book your table here.

 

Super celeriac 

This unusual ingredient offers a true taste of the season. The ancient root vegetable has a subtle celery-like taste which gives dishes a wonderful earthy flavour. I often find myself adding it to the autumn menus at The Alverton and at our sister hotel  The Greenbank because it’s just so brilliant to work with.

Its versatility means it can bulk out stews or even work as the star of a dish as well. In our restaurants, I love to make it into a puree and add it to hearty dishes. We currently service it with twice-cooked pork belly or roasted butternut and sage tart. It really helps to balance out the plate.

 

Hearty dishes

Autumn is the perfect time to embrace feasting nights. There’s nothing quite like gathering around the table with friends and family on a cold, dark evening. I like to focus on delicious and warming British classics, with an Alverton twist.

And our new autumm menu fits the bill. Think hearty dishes like Alverton Rossini, prime beef fillet, baked croute, seared duck liver, confit shallots and parmesan truffle mash.

Preserve summer

Now is the time to gather the remains of your summer harvest and make sure nothing goes to waste by preserving your haul. Turn fresh cucumbers into pickled gherkins; perfect for adding a touch of sharpness to your dishes. Or transform your vegetable garden into savoury chutneys like piccalilli – it’s a real game changer when added to roasted ham sandwiches.

I recently whipped up a tomato and black chilli chutney using the fruits of my garden patch. It’s amazing with some good Cornish cheese and biscuits.

Restaurant

For restaurants in Truro, look no further than The Alverton. Sip cocktails overlooking the garden and indulge in award-winning Cornish cuisine.

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Bar

Sip hand-crafted cocktails overlooking the gardens or make yourself at home by the fire. For a little slice of country living in the city, The Alverton bar is the place to be.

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