There's a moment every year when the kitchen starts to change.

Tomatoes and peaches begin disappearing. The evenings get cooler. Farmers' markets fill with squash, apples, pears, root vegetables and hearty greens.

And our chefs get very excited.

Fall is one of the best seasons to cook in Ontario because the ingredients naturally lend themselves to the kind of food we begin craving as the temperature drops: roasted vegetables, soups, braises, baked desserts and comforting Sunday dinners.

Here are some of thefall seasonal ingredients our chefs look forward to cooking with every year.

Apples

Few ingredients say Ontario autumn quite like an apple.

And apples deserve to be used for much more than pie.

Add sliced apples to salads with sharp cheese. Roast them alongside pork. Turn them into chutney. Bake them into crisps. Cook them down into sauce.

Different varieties offer different levels of sweetness, acidity and texture, so experiment.

Squash

Butternut. Acorn. Delicata. Spaghetti squash.

Fall brings an incredible variety.

Roasting concentrates squash's natural sweetness and gives the edges beautiful caramelization.

Turn it into soup, purée it for a side dish, fold it into risotto, add it to pasta or simply roast wedges with olive oil, herbs and spices.

When it comes tofall cooking ideas, squash is one of the most versatile ingredients you can buy.

Pears

Pears don't always get the attention apples receive, but chefs love them.

They're fantastic poached, baked or roasted, but they also work beautifully in savoury dishes.

Try sliced pear with greens and blue cheese, serve it alongside roasted pork, or pair it with a sharp Canadian cheddar.

For dessert, baked pears with warm spices make an easy finish to an autumn meal.

Root Vegetables

Carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips and rutabaga are built for cooler weather.

Roast them at higher heat to develop colour and sweetness rather than boiling away all their personality.

Add herbs, spices, citrus, maple or a good vinaigrette and suddenly the vegetables aren't an obligation.

They're one of the best things on the table.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts have come a long way from the grey, boiled versions many people remember.

The secret?

Stop boiling them to death.

Halve them and roast until deeply browned, or shred them for a warm salad.

Crispy edges change everything.

Mushrooms

Earthy mushrooms pair naturally with autumn flavours.

Sauté them until properly browned and use them in pasta, risotto, soups, sauces, omelettes and alongside steak or chicken.

One of the biggest mistakes home cooks make with mushrooms is overcrowding the pan. Give them room and enough heat to develop colour.

Cabbage

It may not be the most glamorous ingredient at the market, but cabbage is inexpensive, versatile and fantastic during the cooler months.

Roast thick wedges until caramelized, braise it, turn it into slaw, add it to soups or sauté it with apples and onions.

Sometimes humble ingredients produce the most satisfying food.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin deserves better than being reduced to a seasonal coffee flavour.

Roasted pumpkin works beautifully in soups, pasta, risotto, curries and baked dishes.

And, of course, there's pie.

We would never argue with pie.

Cook With What's Growing Around You

One of the joys of exploringOntario fall produce is allowing the season to decide what's for dinner.

Visit a farmers' market without a rigid shopping list. See what looks good. Ask growers what's particularly good that week.

Then build your meal around it.

Cooking with seasonal ingredients doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, great ingredients often need less intervention.

Roast them properly. Season them well. Add fresh herbs, good olive oil, acidity or a complementary sauce.

Let the ingredient do the rest.

At The Chef Upstairs, that's one of the lessons we return to again and again in our cooking classes: becoming a better cook isn't only about mastering complicated recipes.

It's about understanding ingredients.

And whenfall produce in Ontario is this good, sometimes the smartest thing a cook can do is simply get out of its way.

 

*****

By Chef Julian Pancer, The Chef Upstairs