Ireland's autumn table is one of the most abundant in the world. Root vegetables, wild mushrooms, game, shellfish at their peak fat content, and apple varieties you will never find in a supermarket -- all arriving at once in September and October. Here is how to make the most of what is in season right now.
September in Ireland is arguably the best month to cook. The vegetable garden is at its most generous -- courgettes, beans, and tomatoes are still producing, while the first of the squashes and root vegetables are ready. Wild mushrooms, especially chanterelles and ceps, appear in woodland areas after the late-summer rains, and foragers' markets are stacked with them. Oysters from Galway, Donegal, and Cork reach peak condition as water temperatures drop and the molluscs fatten up on plankton. A Galway oyster in September -- served cold, with a squeeze of lemon and a pint of stout -- is one of the great pleasures of Irish food. Game season opens in September too. Pheasant, partridge, and wood pigeon are in season, and their lean, flavorful meat suits the braising and roasting weather that arrives with the first cool nights. Apples are the real headline of Irish autumn. Bramleys, the great Irish cooking apple, are so abundant that many old trees go unharvested. Their extreme acidity makes them useless raw but extraordinary cooked: they collapse into a fluffy, intensely tart puree at the slightest heat, ideal for sauces, crumbles, and pies where you want the apple to melt rather than hold its shape.