How do you shop in the Fall and winter? I came home from the supermarket yesterday with bananas and mangos. Maybe I was wishing for some sort of Caribbean vacation while I was shopping but today, I find there’s something strange about cutting into a mango as you watch the first winter flurries pass by your kitchen window. The mango is good, sure, but the heat that made it is long gone.

In Italy, eating seasonally is a way of life and done with such ease it doesn’t need to be documented. You eat what you have, what is available, while it’s at it’s freshest. With cool autumn temperatures come earthy flavours that call for the warmth of soups, pastas and roasting. Comfort food at the right time.

Here’s how to enjoy Italy’s fall flavours:

Mushrooms: Mushrooms sprout up in the forests of Italy where they are foraged for, whereas in Canada they are farmed. Either way though, added to pasta or risotto, roasted in the oven with Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese or served simply sautéed, they are dense with flavour this time of year.

Chestnuts: The chestnuts you see in stores are broken out of their green, spiky outer coating. Eat them fresh, they are ok. Roast them and they are golden. Even better: boil, mash, bake or crumble them adding a slightly sweet and full flavour to pastas, desserts and, of course, stuffing.

Olives: Have you ever tried a fresh olive? Don’t. Really. They are terrible and they’ll stain your hands, clothes and whatever else they touch. But Fresh Pressed Olive Oil is peppery, sharp and definitely worth trying at least once in your life with the best Italian bread you can find (dip liberally!). You’ll think differently about olive oil after that first taste.

Dried Figs: True, figs are ripe all summer in Italy with their sweet, honey-like interiors treasured by everyone. But it takes some time to get to the next stage – dried figs – which are perfect for fall and winter recipes. Dried Figs are an ingredient onto their own, used in a variety of desserts or enjoyed on their own with a good glass of wine.

Wine: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention something to wash down everything with. La Vendemmia, the grape harvest festival, sprouts up throughout Italy in the fall with communities and individuals getting into the act of stomping, squishing, juicing and then preparing luscious grapes for wine. Drink it fresh (we always got a glass of fresh pressed grape juice when our grandfather made wine) or when first bottled, and you’ll feel the harvest immediately.