Autumn Recipes for Your Last Harvest
When I carried in the last basket of beans, tomatoes, and courgettes this week, it struck me — this isn’t just food. It’s a memory of summer, packed into jars, bowls, and pans. Cooking with your final harvest is about more than filling your plate; it’s about honoring the cycle of the garden, capturing flavors before the season shifts for good.
So today, let’s bring the garden into the kitchen and celebrate Autumn with recipes that are simple, warming, and just a little indulgent.
Pickled Baby Cucumbers with Dill & Mustard Seeds
For the tiny cucumbers you harvested in a hurry before the chill.
You’ll need:
400 g small cucumbers
250 ml white wine vinegar
250 ml water
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp mustard seeds
A few sprigs of fresh dill
How to:
Slice cucumbers in halves or quarters lengthwise.
Heat vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and mustard seeds until dissolved.
Pack cucumbers and dill into sterilised jars, pour over the hot liquid, and seal.
These will brighten sandwiches, salads, or simply serve as a crunchy snack when the days turn grey.
Roasted Pepper & Chilli Spread
Because the garden’s heat doesn’t need to vanish with summer.
You’ll need:
4 red peppers
2 chillies (adjust to your taste)
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt
How to:
Roast peppers and chillis until blistered and blackened. Cover with a tea towel, then peel off skins.
Blend roasted peppers, chillies, and garlic with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Spread on bread, swirl into pasta, or dollop onto soups. It’s summer, captured in a jar.
Autumn Root Traybake with Honey & Thyme
Your carrots, beets, and kohlrabi are at their sweetest now — show them off.
You’ll need:
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2 beetroots, peeled & wedged
1 kohlrabi, peeled & cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
A few sprigs of thyme
Sea salt & pepper
How to:
Toss vegetables with oil, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Roast at 200°C for 30–40 minutes.
Drizzle with honey before serving.
Perfect with a soft-poached egg, grilled fish, or simply a hunk of bread.
Green Tomato Chutney (Lazy-Day Version)
For the stubborn tomatoes that refused to ripen.
You’ll need:
500 g green tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
150 g sugar (brown works best)
150 ml cider vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp chilli flakes
How to:
Simmer all ingredients gently for 45–60 minutes until thick and jammy.
Spoon into jars and store in the fridge.
Serve with cheese, cold meats, or alongside roasted veggies. Every bite tastes like the garden’s grand finale.
Cooking as a Harvest Ritual
What I love about these recipes is how they extend the season. A jar of pickles or chutney isn’t just food — it’s a story. It says, “I grew this. I picked this. I carried a piece of September into December.”
Cooking with the last harvest is also a way to slow down. You stand at the stove, stirring slowly, while the rain taps on the window. You taste, you season, you smile — because the garden is still with you, even as the days grow short.
The harvest doesn’t end in the soil. It continues in the kitchen, on the plate, and around the table. Every tomato, every bean, every beetroot is a reminder that small gardens bring big joys — especially when shared.
And here’s the thought I want to leave you with: what if next year, these recipes weren’t just made with the last bits of summer’s harvest, but with vegetables you grew yourself?
Autumn and winter are the perfect seasons to begin planning. With my Beginner’s Course, you can slowly design, set up, and plan your garden over the colder months, so by early spring you’ll be ready to sow — and by next autumn, you’ll be cooking your own carrots, beets, and green tomato chutney.
👉 Start your garden journey today with my Beginner’s Course
So cook generously, preserve wisely, and dream ahead. Your Tiny Garden has one last gift to give — hope for the season to come.
P.S. here you can download my nice printable recipe cards, for you to keep or share with friends and family.