At this time of year the vegetable garden acts as an outdoor pantry. While onions, pumpkins, carrots and celeriac are safe in the cool but protected toolshed, the hardy vegetables tough it out in open ground. Cabbages, beetroot, leeks, swedes, parsnips and potatoes all waiting to be dug up and taken to the outdoor kitchen where they are washed and cleaned before being taken into the house. Sometimes the additional work required to dig, wash, clean and peel before cooking can start means that these vegetables are overlooked earlier in the season, but now they come more sharply into focus as we look to ensure that all are eaten before the winter is out.

The hardiest of all these are the parsnips. In fact, they benefit from a freeze, which converts starches to sugars and so sweetens their flesh. These sugars also act as a kind of antifreeze, meaning that the roots can be left in the ground all winter. The only thing to remember is to ensure your parsnip rows are well marked as, once the foliage dies back, it is impossible to see them beneath the soil level.