Autumn on Exmoor: enjoying the harvest

I’ve always loved autumn; to me as a child it meant bonfires, harvest festivals, picking blackberries, seeing the changing colours of the leaves, then jumping into piles of crunchy leaves… and thinking about it, nothing much has changed – that still just about sums it up.

Here on Exmoor, the local villages will soon be holding their harvest lunches and suppers, to celebrate the

gathering in of all kinds of crops – and just to have a get-together - always fun occasions and very well attended.

Autumn really does seem to be a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness this year. The past few days have started off mysteriously misty, with full sun by the afternoon. And fruitfulness-wise, everything’s been burgeoning. The glut has meant that we’ve been lucky enough to have received various produce from kind people. If you've read this blog before, or seen our webstie, you'll know that food is a subject very dear to our hearts.

First came a large Boston winter squash, from which we made soup (see http://exmoorhousewx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/squash-soup-autumn-recipe-from-exmoor.html ). Then some wonderful windfall apples. Nothing can compare with fresh English apples; it’s a shame so many in the shops are imported. Plums from a neighbour’s tree have made up into lovely jam; ornamental Japanese quinces from another neighbour have given us japonica jelly. Made in a similar way to apple jelly, it has a sweet-and-sour taste that goes well with meat and cheese – and apple pie. We’ve also served it with our vanilla ice cream as part of a fruity sundae. There are field mushrooms galore; delicious with a garlic sauce, or simply fried in a bit of butter (NB: never eat any wild mushrooms unless you have definitely identified them as being non-poisonous). And of course we’ve been picking blackberries; try blackberry and pear crumble as a change from the ubiquitous blackberry and apple.

The beautiful summer we’ve had has done wonders for the herbs in our garden. The lovage plant reached over 8 feet tall this year. Normally by this time it would not have many leaves left; but there is quite a bit of new growth at the foot so we’ll probably get a few more pans of carrot & lovage soup yet. I’ve already got some of the seeds drying (they can be used to season casseroles and so on, and have a particular affinity with beef). The mint has gone, well, berserk – and the rosemary has done better than I’ve ever seen it here.

Exmoor’s changing colours are always a delight; at this time of year the beech hedges are starting to fade to browny-gold; there are just a last few flowers of heather and gorse clinging on, and the hawthorn and rowan berries are in their full glory. Why not come and see for yourself?

Squash soup: an autumn recipe from Exmoor House

The other week some kind guests brought us a present: a large squash from their allotment. This turned out to be a Boston marrow winter squash, which resembles a pumpkin in texture and colour but is more lemon- or gourd-shaped. It can be used in all the same ways as a pumpkin (e.g. baked, included in casseroles, and to make pies, purées and soup). If you’ve stayed with us at Exmoor House, you’ll know that we love good food and enjoy trying different ingredients and flavour combinations.

In autumnal mood because it was a lovely autumn day, I just fancied some soup. On the web I found many recipes for squash soup, some of them quite fancy. I decided that mine would be simple and basic, so that the squash could speak for itself – it adds a lovely velvety texture and has a sweet, mellow taste. The soup could then be jazzed up if required. Here’s what I did… by the way, I deliberately haven’t mentioned any quantities here, because it will depend on how much squash you’re using. You might need a very large pan, though.

Cut the squash into chunks and peel it. Fry the chunks in olive oil with some chopped onions. Add vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you prefer) plus some fresh herbs (I tied mine in a piece of muslin to make a bouquet garni, bruising the herbs so that the flavour went into the soup) and garlic. I also added pepper, but not salt. Bring the pan to the boil and simmer until the squash and onions are soft. Liquidise the mixture (removing the bouquet garni first, which I nearly forgot to do!).

We ate the soup with a dusting of smoked paprika as a garnish. You could also use other spices such as cumin, or perhaps small pieces of crispy bacon, fried sage leaves, crème fraîche, cream, most cheeses… I’m sure there are many more possibilities, so do let me know if you discover one that is particularly fabulous.

Food, glorious local food

Have you booked your tasting platter lunch at Exmoor House? They’re every day of the Exmoor Food Festival (30th September to 9th October inclusive) from 12 noon to 2pm. To tie in with the Food Festival, I thought I’d tell you a bit about some of our suppliers. We buy local as much as we can; it makes sense in so many ways, from supporting other local businesses to reducing food miles to knowing where things have come from!


Meat comes from John May Butchers in South Molton. They sell top-class meat, including the great sausages and dry-cure bacon (with the rind on) that we serve at breakfast, very chickeny free-range chicken and well-matured beef. John May deals with carefully-selected farms in Somerset and Devon.

Frank of Star Fish is our man-with-a-van who visits the village. His fish comes from Newlyn and he’s very knowledgeable about its provenance and sustainability. Cornish pollack, mackerel, naturally-smoked haddock and kippers all go down very well with our guests.

Most of our milk, butter and cheese are supplied by Axe Valley Dairies (currently based in Williton). We use Kelway Farm mature cheddar (made near Glastonbury); Exmoor Jersey Blue (from Lydeard St Lawrence) and Somerset brie. Goat’s cheese comes from Diana Piercy, a smallholder based in the Exe Valley. She makes soft and hard cheeses, both delicious. Diana also runs smallholding courses: visit http://exmoorsmallholdingcentre.co.uk/ for details.

Vegetables and fruit can be more difficult, as not that much is grown around here – it’s more hill-farming country. However, depending on when you visit, your dinner might include some of my home-grown herbs or salad leaves - you can't get much more local than that! My salad crops weren’t very successful this year, although the herbs are still going strong, and seem particularly vibrant.

It’s been a good year for fruit, and we went to the pick-your-own at Runnington Farm near Wellington: our jam and pickle cupboard is now fully stocked again. We get surplus fruit and veg from neighbours when we can: we’ve had luscious blackcurrants, and champion marrows and red cabbage. Occasionally we manage to get our hands on some Exmoor whortleberries, which just have to be made into a pie, served with lashings of clotted cream. In the asparagus season, a visit to the farm at Withycombe is in order – what a treat. They often sell home-made elderflower cordial too. We’ve also bought various things from a lady over near Tiverton who grows fantastic potatoes and beetroot (to name but two).

A neighbour’s free-range hens provide us with lovely eggs. Exmoor honey has a wonderful deep flavour – you can often taste the heather. We get ours from Exmoor Pure Honey in Allerford, or from The Archer House in Dunster.

When it comes to drinks, there’s a great choice of excellent local producers and suppliers. We use tea, coffee and hot chocolate from D J Miles of Porlock, whose blends are made to suit the water round here. Local vintner Washfield Wines provides most of the wines on our list, apart from those actually made on Exmoor, which come from Dunkery Vineyard in Wootton Courtenay. Their sparkling Exmoor Brut has received rave reviews. The bottled beers on our honesty bar come from Exmoor Ales and Cotleigh breweries, both based in Wiveliscombe. And of course we have Somerset ciders, from Sheppy’s near Taunton. For soft drinks, there’s the Devon-based Luscombe Organic Drinks.

Hungry yet? Hope to see you for lunch during the Exmoor Food Festival. If you can’t make that, though, remember we’re open for dinner most nights throughout the year. Booking is essential for lunch or dinner – just give us a call!

More information about the Exmoor Food Festival: http://www.exmoorfoodfestival.co.uk/

Herbs & salad

Well, the rain we've had recently has meant that the salad crops I planted are flourishing! The leafy ones, anyway - lots of lovely rocket & baby lettuce leaves, and the spring onions are coming on nicely. Sadly, the tomatoes are not doing so well. They should pick up once we get more sun though.
The herbs are really vibrant: the mint's incredibly minty, the lemon balm very lemony, and the sage - well - sagey. Last year my sage was comprehensively eaten by snails, but this time it seems to be surviving much better.
Frank does a great dish of local chicken breast stuffed with our home-grown herbs and wrapped in local bacon, which we serve with a herby tomato sauce - delicious! We've also been doing some wonderful maincourse salads.
Remember that Exmoor House is open to non-residents for dinner (though it's essential to book at least 24 hours in advance, especially if you have any particular dietary requirements).
Hope to see you soon!