A chilly, snowy start to winter has already stalled my cooking groove. Colder weather sometimes makes me default to a few hearty dishes that I cook on repeat all winter, but this year, I’m determined to keep my winter cooking adventures alive!
While I’m missing all of the amazing summer ingredients from the farmers’ markets, I’m trying to see the glass as half full and get excited about what winter cooking has to offer. In stocking my pantry, I focused on ingredients that are big on flavor, flexible with cooking styles, and forgiving with long cook times. Once I have these pantry staples and produce items on hand, I’ll be able to build delicious, exciting dinners all winter long.
1. Root Vegetables Are Ready to RoastOne thing I’ve started doing to bulk up my winter pantry is stock up on root vegetables at the farmers’ market before fall fades completely. If you follow my example, make sure to ask your farmer if the vegetables have been cured so you’ll know if they’ll last. Curing is a simple process in which the vegetables are stored in an area with good air circulation for about two weeks. This period of time allows the vegetables’ skin to harden, which extends the shelf life by quite a bit. If you’re lucky enough to have a cool, dark place in your home, create a mini cellar of root vegetables to reach for all winter. Their sweet, hearty flavors hold up to long roasting and braising processes and are deeply satisfying to a winter palate. Best of all, you can spend all winter experimenting with how their flavors change with slow roasting, steaming, braising, and more.
2. Alliums Are The Building Blocks for FlavorWhile in the summer, I like to let simple, fresh flavors shine, in the winter, I reach for onions and garlic to start nearly every dish. Building a strong foundation for complex, heartier flavors is easy with onions, garlic, shallots, and leeks, all of which are readily available at the grocery store all winter long. For a meal prep bonus, I like to chop onions and mince garlic on the weekends to help get myself ready for the week. Even if I don’t know what I’m making yet, this quick step saves a lot of time and is useful all week.
3. Winter Citrus Brightens Things Up
My favorite part of winter? The citrus! If you know me, you know that my most used ingredient is lemons, but in the winter, I love to mix things up and add citrus to everything. Squeezing fresh juices into meat braises, cutting grapefruit segments into a big, juicy salad, and adding some spice to sliced citrus are all ways I love to add some fresh flavors and vitamin C into my winter meals.
4. Leafy Greens Can Take the Heat
When I first started my garden plot, I accidentally planted too much kale. As in, more than anyone (even me, kale’s number one fan!) could possibly eat all summer. When I realized that it thrived in cold fall weather and even the early days of winter, I quickly added more hearty leafy greens into my garden plan for next year. Chard, escarole, and cabbage have all become favorites of mine to add vitamins and fiber to rich winter meals like stews and cream sauces. They also work raw in salads and sales, which is an added bonus!
5. Secret Pantry Ingredients Boost Flavor
My secret pantry weapons are the umami-packed extras that I reach for to level up winter dishes. High-quality olive oils, salted butter, tomato pastes, anchovies, capers, miso, and chili crisps are great things to reach for to finish a wintery dish with flair.
The Chopping Block is offering several upcoming hands-on cooking classes that focus on winter focused foods. You won't want to miss:
- Cozy Casseroles: Bake and Take Monday, January 19 6pm
- Homemade Soups and Breads from Scratch Wednesday, January 28 6pm
- Winter in Toscana Saturday, February 7 6pm
