Menu of the month - September 2012

Courgette soup with watercress and pecorino 
This light summer soup is perfect for late summer when courgettes are cheap and plentiful. Serve each bowl with a spoonful of the watercress and Pecorino pesto zigzagged over the surface of the soup

Chicken Cacciatora 
This is my version of the famous Italian classic – best made in the autumn when there's a glut of red, ripe, full-flavoured tomatoes, but it's still good in winter, as there are now some well-flavoured varieties available. Either way, the tomatoes need to be very red and ripe. 
 

Plum and almond buttermilk cobbler 
I have a small Victoria plum tree and so laden is it every September that Richard, who helps us with our garden, has to put a stake under one of the branches to hold it in place. I like to pick a few each morning for a healthy, slimming breakfast, but for Sunday feasts, plum cobbler is one of our favourite family puddings, which allows the plums to cook in their own luscious juice and provides a cloud of crisp fluffy topping