The In-Between Season

Fall is not a season so much as a transition.

It comes in with the last of summer’s tomatoes, peppers and eggplants--vegetables so ripe and sun-baked they’re almost cooked before they’re picked. It goes out with winter squash, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas, the last vegetables in the larder. It begins with the grill and ends with the stew.

Fall is a time of transition especially in Southern California. It’s when the dry season builds to its peak, then breaks with winter’s first rains.

The light in fall is different too, with a golden cast that makes even the summer-saturated colors of the last hot-weather fruits and vegetables look different from their hue just a month or two ago.

We’re starting fall now, grateful to have August and early September’s fever behind us. By the time the fall harvest ends, between mid-December and early January, we’ll be locked into the short, hungry days of winter.

Enjoy the season while it lasts.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Guide to Fall’s Harvest (Roughly in Order of Appearance)

Tomatoes: Early fall is when the last of the year’s tomatoes are picked. They tend to be either a little wizened from spending so much time on the vine or a little green. If they’re dead red and soft, use them for sauce. If they’re crisp, slice them thinly and use them for salads. Go easy on the vinegar; they’re tart enough on their own.

Eggplants: Eggplants come in almost any shape, size or color you can imagine, from blackish purple to pure white, from the size and shape of green peas to globular and convoluted. The easiest way to prepare eggplant is on the grill. Simply slice it half an inch thick and put it on the fire, brushing with garlicky olive oil a couple of times. When it’s done, sprinkle with salt and a little vinegar and layer with fresh herbs. Shop carefully: It seems I’m seeing more eggplants with soft spots and bruises this year than ever before.

Peppers: There’s no better way to capture the saturated colors of fall than with a platter of mixed red, gold and green roasted peppers. Grill them until their skins begin to blacken; they will then slip right off. Toss with just a little minced garlic and olive oil (the texture is so luxurious you won’t need much) and serve with lots of toasted bread.

Figs: What is more decadent than a perfectly ripe fig? They are so good plain that any elaboration borders on the criminal. You’ll find both black and green figs, but there isn’t much difference in flavor. I favor the green slightly; they seem a little spicier. Serve as part of a fruit and cheese platter or--if they’re firm when you buy them--poach them gently in sweetened red wine.

Grapes: Grapes in the fall? You bet. While summer’s varieties tend to be sweet, fall’s best are more complexly flavored. The king of fall grapes is the Muscat, although it is getting harder to find. Still, it is worth searching out. A good Muscat grape is full-flavored to the point of floweriness. But be sure to taste before you buy; an underripe Muscat is just another green grape. Speaking of which, even the Thompson seedless takes on a special glow in early fall. For either variety, look for grapes that have a golden tinge.

Dates: One of the great pleasures of living in Southern California is fall’s fresh date harvest. You can find half a dozen or so varieties, depending on the market. The best are the Deglet, which has a dark, caramel-like flavor, and the Medjool, a large date with an almost liquid texture and a hint of anise in the taste. The Zahidi isn’t quite as easy to find, but it makes a nice compromise between the two.

Apples: I can never keep cooking and eating apples straight. The books say to cook Jonathan, McIntosh and Rome Beauty because they have crisp, firm flesh. That’s what I like for eating out of hand too. Anyway, in California, we grow three main varieties: Fuji, Gala and Granny Smith. Of those, I most often cook with Grannies. By far the predominant apples in grocery stores are still the Golden Delicious and Red Delicious, which come from the Pacific Northwest. Both can be decent, but remember that there’s no such thing as a Green Delicious. A truly ripe Golden Delicious is just that.

Pears: Most of the pears you see in early fall are Bartletts from California. They can be a very good fruit, especially if you get them dead ripe, golden and melting. Still, no offense intended, the absolute queen of the pear crop is the Comice, or Doyenne du Comice, to give it its full credit. Heaven is a ripe Comice, some cracked walnuts and a wedge of room-temperature blue cheese. Other varieties worth checking out include Seckel, a tiny, firm, russeted pear; Bosc, with its elegantly tapered neck; and Anjou, a spicy oval-shaped pear. Pears ripen off the tree; simply leave them on the counter at room temperature. They’re golden when dead ripe, but when you see the green background “break” into yellow, they’re soft enough to eat. Comice tend to stay a little greener than other varieties.

Asian Pears: More than a dozen varieties of Asian pears are grown in California; of them, the Hosui is generally acknowledged as the best. Asian pears are more like apples than pears (in some places they’re called apple pears), with flesh the texture of a soft apple and a flavor that’s a luscious combination of pear and honey. Some varieties, including the Hosui, tend to have very russeted skin.

Artichokes: Although we usually associate artichokes with spring, 20% of the crop comes in the fall, when the plants give a second harvest. Look for artichokes that are heavy for their size and check the stems--if they’re starting to come apart, the ‘chokes have been stored too long.

Shelly Beans: You may have to search these out at a farmers market or gourmet grocery, but they are some of the true delicacies of the fall. These beans are normally sold dried, but for several weeks in the fall, you can buy them in the pod. Granted, you have to take them home and shell them, but the flavor is more complex and the texture is creamier than that of the dried beans. Among the popular shelly beans are black-eyed peas, lima beans, cranberry beans, scarlet runner beans and flageolet. Depending on type and maturity, these beans will cook in 10 to 30 minutes.

Quince: This is another food you may have to seek out (check Middle Eastern markets). Quince look like swollen pears, but most types can’t be eaten raw (they’re unbelievably tannic). Once you’ve poached them in a sugar syrup, though, the transformation is amazing. They turn a beautiful rose color and become fragrant and spicy. They’re ready to cook when they are golden. Green quinces will ripen--albeit sometimes slowly--if stored at room temperature.

Pomegranates: Everyone loves to eat the pomegranate’s ruby seeds, but nobody knows how to get at them. The best way we’ve found is to cut the fruit into quarters and place them in a sink full of water. You can then work the seeds free (they’ll sink while the pith floats) without turning every article of clothing you own crimson.

Walnuts and Almonds: These are California’s big nuts. A bowl of fresh-crop walnuts is always on my table during the fall and winter. A great way to finish a bottle of wine is with a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano and some cracked walnuts. Almonds are better when they’re cooked. I like slivered almonds on tarts, ground almonds in cookies and almond paste in tortes. You can steep almonds in hot milk to make almond-flavored ice cream or blancmange. And deep-fried whole almonds rolled in salt and ground chili powder are perfect when paired with green olives to serve with an aperitif.

Persimmons: You either love them or hate them. Personally, one of my favorite late fall dessert habits is to quarter a ripe persimmon, leaving it joined at the bottom, then grace it with a dollop of whipped cream flavored with just a hint of Grand Marnier and top the whole thing with chopped toasted walnuts. You can buy persimmons rock-hard, but you can’t eat them that way. Let them sit at room temperature until ready to eat. Or freeze them overnight; by the time they’re thawed, they’ll be fine. Once fully ripe, persimmons are meltingly soft. You can also buy Fuyu persimmons, which are eaten when firm. They have a sweet flavor and almost apple-like texture.

Endive and Other Hardy Greens: Rather than thinking of these as just tough lettuces, think of them as greens you can cook. Braise Belgian endive or radicchio in a little bit of stock. With green, leafy endive, keep the pale, tender inner leaves for salad and add the tougher outer leaves to stews.

Chard: This is really two vegetables in one. The leafy part of the plant can be treated like any other hardy green; you can even make a nice warm salad of blanched chard leaves, finished with a walnut oil-sherry vinegar dressing. The thick ribs need to be cooked longer, then they are used as a vegetable. Try chopping them, then binding them in a cream sauce to make a gratin or adding them to stews.

Broccoli, Broccoli Rabe and Cauliflower: The broccoli family is colorful and confused. Actually, these three are so closely related they can be treated almost interchangeably. Broccoli and broccoli rabe tend to do better in olive oil-based recipes; cauliflower is better with butter and cheese. But there’s certainly nothing wrong with blanched cauliflower dressed with olive oil, garlic and capers. And where would the food industry be without broccoli in cheese sauce? Broccoli rabe is the thin stalk-like vegetable with leaves and flowers. The flowers are pretty, but buy broccoli before too many of them open and the stalks go old and bitter.

Mushrooms: Mushrooms are around for most of the year, but in the fall they start to get really interesting. Mushrooms are naturally hearty, even when you just grill them in the summertime. When you really feel like eating them, though, is when the weather cools. Add them to stews or braise them on their own with butter, shallots and cream.

Winter Squash: There are more kinds of winter squash than you can shake a stick at (not that shaking a stick at a winter squash would do it much damage). My favorites tend to be those with a nuttier flavor (as opposed to a greener, more vegetal flavor). These include kabocha, butternut, carnival and the acorn-like varieties. Before buying, check squash for soft spots. To cook, simply cut in half, remove the seeds and either roast at 350 degrees or steam until soft. Winter squash, incidentally, is harvested in the fall but will keep through the winter because of its hard skin.

Turnips, Parsnips and Rutabagas: For all the scorn heaped upon these poor root vegetables, you’d think we were all raised in North Dakota, surviving the winter on nothing more than “swedes” dug out of sawdust. Hey, these things are delicious. Don’t believe me? Slice them about a quarter of an inch thick, blanch them in boiling salted water until tender and then stew them in butter until they begin to brown. That’s a cure for even the most stubborn parsnip-hater.

RAGOUT OF SHELLY BEANS

I was served something like this at a fancy restaurant where they kept insisting that the large green beans were fava beans. I don’t know why lima beans have such a bad reputation; I would be perfectly happy with a bowl of them, plainly boiled, seasoned with a little melted butter, some salt and a pinch of minced herbs. Actually, that’s all this recipe is, fancied up a bit.

1 1/2 pounds assorted shelly beans (lima, cranberry, scarlet runner beans, black-eyed peas)

4 slices bacon

1 onion, finely diced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 cup chopped peeled Roma tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Salt, optional

Shell beans, keeping each type separate. Cook each type of bean in succession in rapidly boiling lightly salted water until almost tender, about 10 minutes for black-eyed peas and lima beans, 25 minutes for cranberry and scarlet runner beans. When each is done, remove from boiling water with slotted spoon and rinse in colander with cold running water to stop cooking. Continue, cooking next bean in same water.

When all beans are cooked, cut each slice of bacon into thin strips and blanch to remove excess salt in same boiling water, about 3 minutes. Remove bacon and fry in large pot over low heat until brown and slightly crisp, about 10 minutes.

Add onion to bacon and continue cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Add cooked beans, thyme, tomatoes and enough water to almost cover. Cook over moderate heat until beans are completely cooked and tomatoes have started to melt.

Add garlic and butter and cook 5 more minutes to blend flavors. Sprinkle with slivered basil. Season to taste with salt, if necessary.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

159 calories; 154 mg sodium; 20 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.81 gram fiber.

TORQUATO’S STEWED POTATOES (Patate in Umido)

This recipes comes from Faith Willinger’s new “Red, White and Greens” (Harper Collins). Like many of the recipes in the book, it is adapted from a recipe by Torquato Innocenti, a vegetable farmer at the Santa Spirito market in Florence.

1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 small hot red pepper or dried red pepper flakes to taste

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh mixed herbs (rosemary, sage, marjoram)

3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup tomato pulp

2 cups boiling water or light homemade stock

Coarse sea salt

Combine garlic, hot red pepper, parsley and mixed herbs in large nonstick skillet, drizzle with oil and stir to coat. Cook, stirring often, over moderate heat until garlic begins to color.

Add potatoes, tomato pulp, water and salt to taste. Simmer until potatoes are tender and sauce is creamy, 20 to 30 minutes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each of 6 servings contains about:

176 calories; 60 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.75 gram fiber.

BAKED STUFFED SWISS CHARD (Biete al Forno)

Blanch leaves, few at a time, in rapidly boiling lightly salted water about 2 minutes. Carefully remove and spread on towel to drain and cool.

1 large bunch Swiss chard

Salt

About 6 ounces shredded mozzarella

Freshly ground black pepper

About 5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

About 1 1/3 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

About 1 cup whipping cream

This recipe is from Carlo Middione’s new book, “La Vera Cucina” (Simon & Schuster).

Wash chard well in plenty of cold water. Cut heavy stems close to leaves and chop stems into small dice.

Blanch diced stems in same water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain stems well and combine with mozzarella in mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and plenty of pepper.

Spread cooled leaves on table and divide stem mixture among them. Dot with 1/4 cup butter and sprinkle with about 1/3 cup cheese, depending on size of leaf packets. Fold leaves to contain filling.

Spread remaining butter on bottom of casserole just large enough to hold all bundles in single layer. Place bundles in casserole and add enough cream to come 1/3 way up bundles. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and golden on top, about 30 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes about 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

310 calories; 348 mg sodium; 103 mg cholesterol; 31 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.31 gram fiber.