Before true winter engulfs us and heavy appetizers and wines line our tables one after the other, we still have an opportunity to use fall fruits and vegetables to the fullest in our cooking.
During fall, focus on eating pumpkin specialties - roasted pumpkin with spices, pumpkin curry, pumpkin soups, pumpkin stuffed with a filling of your choice and so on. Pumpkin specialties are not only tasty but very healthy, for they fuel the body with important nutrients.
The 1st fall dish that we've picked out is a main course, even though some classify it as an appetizer as well. We're talking about stuffed potatoes with veal - if you're not a fan of veal you can always substitute it or even leave it out.
You can prepare stuffed potatoes with veggies only, as long as this matches your taste. But to make the aforementioned recipe you will need finely chopped veal, braise it with finely chopped onions.
Then add bulgur, paprika, black pepper, savory, ginger, nutmeg, canned tomatoes.
Fry everything. Peel the potatoes, carve them out and fill them with the fried stuffing. Arrange them in an oven dish, pour on 1 cup of water and bake. Once they're baked a bit, sprinkle them with finely chopped garlic and basil.
If you still feel that these stuffed potatoes won't be enough for dinner you can add an à la minute to them - for example chicken offal in a saucepan. And more specifically, chicken livers, which you can braise in oil.
Here's something easy and not particularly original - you can enrich the recipe as follows: soak the livers in oil, milk, freshly-squeezed lemon, black pepper, savory and a little salt ahead of time. After about 2 hours, take the livers out and leave them to drain, then fry them.
Our next idea is for fish - the recipe isn't too complex and you can add and take away products as desired. We've picked out a dish with mackerel because it's relatively easy to make and it's superb taste can't be denied. Here's what you need to make it:
Stuffed mackerel
Ingredients: 4 mackerels, 2 peppers, chili peppers, 1 tomato, garlic, parsley, salt, oil, black pepper, basil, white wine.
Preparation: Clean the fish and sprinkle them with salt and black pepper inside and out. Finely chop the remaining ingredients, excluding the basil, and saute them in oil.
Stuff the fish with the mixture and arrange them in an oven dish - put pieces of tomato on top, sprinkle with basil, pour on the white wine and bake in a moderate oven.
And since fall is a relatively cool season, you can pour yourself white wine instead of a glass of beer with your dish - it will perfectly complement the taste of the fish.
