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I don’t know how everyone else feels, but it seems like this year’s winter is particularly cold. While in reality, South African weather is pretty mild, we do like to feel a bit sorry for ourselves in July and August. But take heart! We are well past the winter solstice, the days are getting longer again, and soon the temperatures will rise.
In the meantime, cooking (and eating) are perfect winter activities. And who better to take inspiration from than those who experience some of the coldest temperatures on earth?
First, let’s take a look at what’s in season
It’s true that growth slows down in winter, but there are still plenty of veggies in season. All of the alliums (onion, garlic, leeks) are at their best, as are root veg and leafy greens. Winter squash and potatoes are abundant. The biggest winter bonus is that local avocados are in season! On the downside, it’s tinned tomato time until December. Only a few local fruits including immunity-boosting citrus and a few berries are being harvested.
While perhaps it’s not the comfort food that springs to mind at this time of year, oysters and mussels have the best texture and flavour in winter.
Japan
Hokkaido, famous for powdery ski slopes and seafood alike, is a good place to start. While the locals are filling up on winter scallops and uni, tourists tend to go for another local speciality, miso ramen.
Similarly, at snow-covered Mount Fuji on the main island, the go-to winter warmer is a nourishing hot pot called Hoto, which is packed with chewy udon-like noodles, pumpkin and also flavoured with miso.
Take inspiration from this and upscale instant ramen or ready-made udon noodles by adding a big tablespoon of miso paste to the broth, cooking some pumpkin, spring onions and pak choi in it before adding the noodles and a soft-boiled egg.
Northern India
Most of the familiar Indian dishes in the Western world are in fact Northern Indian in origin. The Himalayan regions replace rice with naan or roti, coconut milk with dairy, and seafood with meat or chicken.
Palak paneer with tender winter spinach, served with garlicky naan, or fiery lamb rogan josh wrapped in a roti are perfect options to bring some heat to winter. Finish your meal with a hot chai tea, as is traditional in the north.
Recently, I’ve been brewing up big batches of chai-inspired hot chocolate. Add cocoa powder, turmeric and fresh ginger to some milk or nut milk in a small pot. Add any whole spices such as cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods or star anise, and a little honey to taste. Bring to the boil and sip piping hot.
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Eastern Europe
It’s a stereotype, but I’m going with it because I want to promote this lowly vegetable. This winter, I’m all about cabbage. Cut mini red or green cabbages into quarters and slow roast covered in foil with plenty of butter and salt. Once meltingly soft and falling apart, with crispy edges (you may need to remove the foil for the last 10 minutes), serve with some torn burrata, a squeeze of lemon and some crushed nut brittle. Not very traditional but totally delicious!
France
While France is not as far north as you can get, they do know a thing or two about winter cooking in the frigid Alps. They have gifted the world with tartiflette, which is perhaps the most indulgent dish I can imagine.
Boil potatoes, fry some bacon pieces until crispy, and sauté onion until soft with white wine, thyme, and plenty of black pepper. Gently toss the above with double thick cream and add to a generously buttered oven dish. Top with a round of semi soft cheese such as reblochon (the traditional choice but tricky to find in South Africa), brie or camembert. Bake at 200°C until golden and crispy on top. With these ingredients no recipe is needed, you can’t really go wrong whatever quantities you use!
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Scotland
While Scotland isn’t world renowned for its appealing cuisine (haggis, anyone?!), they did invent the hot toddy. With enough Scotch whisky to make you warm and fuzzy, plus soothing honey and lemon, it’s a perfect winter cocktail.
Place 1 shot of whisky, 2 teaspoons of honey, 1 thick slice of lemon, squeezed gently, and a small cinnamon stick in a mug. Top up with about ¾ cups boiling water. You could also add a little apple cider vinegar and slices of fresh ginger to scare away any winter colds.
Alaska
In Alaska, preserving, pickling and freezing while the weather is milder is the traditional way of preparing for the long winter months. Smoked salmon is of course the classic.
Interestingly, most yeast varieties don’t cope well with the Alaskan cold, so sourdough bread has been standard fare in Alaska long before it became trendy. Apparently, seasoned Alaskans are referred to as “sourdoughs” because of this!
Put this all together and I guess you have a classic salmon toast. Butter both sides of a sourdough slice and toast in a dry, hot frying pan (the superior way of toasting). Top with smashed local avo, a squeeze of in-season lemon juice, and some local smoked trout! Of course, in Alaska it would be smoked salmon, but trout is a much more sustainable choice and equally tasty. Add Maldon salt, pickled red onion and capers to level up.
Hopefully these ideas have inspired you to warm up in the kitchen, and offered some soothing armchair travel on the side.
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