Harvest, Stuffed Pumpkins, and Aşıkara
Harvests, grape and otherwise, are going strong this October. Now, I hear you gearing up to admonish me that they’re only happening in the northern hemisphere; that countries in the southern parts of the world aren’t yet in harvest season. That’s not exactly true though, is it? Crops are harvested throughout the year, depending on what they are.
It is, however, the last big harvest of the year—which happens in the autumn for those of us in the north—that’s most celebrated.
Historic and Global Harvest Celebrations
Historically people have celebrated the autumnal harvest with such great fervor because this was the last chance to bring in foods that would see people through the long winter months. Before the days of refrigeration, globalization, greenhouses, and express shipping, we ate what we could grow, reap, and store. Winters were harsh and cold. If you were lucky, you had enough firewood to keep warm and you’d stored enough to feed your family and your animals.
Who wouldn’t want one last hoorah before all those dark and scary months? Apparently no one since these festivals have been celebrated by all and sundry throughout history.
I’ve got a couple harvest festival examples here, but let’s start with what I know, Thanksgiving, American-style. Yes, I know Canadians also have Thanksgiving (October) but I don’t want to tar them with my brush here. There’s a slim possibility that some school districts around the country teach American history written with a more objective pen. I grew up on stories of pilgrims being welcomes by Natives with gifts of food and such (could have happened) and sitting down together in harmony for a nice meal. Considering the folks who landed and everything that happened not too long after, I think the convivial mixed company dinner image I grew up with is pretty suss.
We might make the biggest fuss, but we’re certainly not the only ones to celebrate the harvest season in the modern world.
Green Corn Ceremony (June–August)
Celebrated for centuries by the Indigenous Nations of the Southeastern United States, the Green Corn ceremony commemorates the harvest of corn. It also signals the beginning of a new year when homes are cleaned, all fires are put out, and old food is eaten.
New Yam Festival (August–October)
Celebrated in West Africa, this festival gives thanks to a successful harvest and seeks blessings from deities and ancestors for the coming year. Yams are a big part of diet and tied to spiritual beliefs and prosperity, especially in Nigeria.
Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival (September–October)
Ah mooncakes. As a teacher, I received so many of these when I lived in Taiwan. There was a place in the park where we could turn in 7/11 receipts and get mooncakes and boxes of tea. I think I ate almost nothing but for a week. Celebrated when the moon is fullest and brightest, this is an ancient festival is observed throughout Asia to show gratitude to the moon for a good harvest.
Erntedankfest (October)
This German/Austrian/Swiss festival celebrates the harvest by decorating with fruit, vegetables, crowns of wheat, and holding parades.
Of course my favorite harvest to celebrate is the grape harvest; any region, any country. I’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to a few such harvest, including here in Turkey. People have been celebrating the grape harvest in Turkey for centuries. Grapes mean so much more to Turkey than just wine and harvest festivals take place across the country every year, usually in September but we have harvests as late as October in some places.
Planning My Own Harvest Celebration
I was never a fan of Thanksgiving. Turkey is dry and largely unredeemable. They’re also terrifying and will rip you apart like a mini raptor. And you don’t know horror until you’ve been exposed to Midwestern dishes like green bean casserole (and anything else requiring cream of mushroom soup), marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, cranberry fluff, salads made out of jello, and salad dressings where the main component is Miracle Whip. Apologies if I, as my best friend says, yucked your yum, but even before my tastebuds acquainted themselves with alternative flavors, Thanksgiving food horrified me.
That’s not to say I don’t love pumpkin. I’m not a monster. And while I don’t care for Thanksgiving, I do love gathering people around a table laden with food and wine. When one of my food and wine books presented me with a stuffed pumpkin, I knew I had to make it and build a dinner around it.
- Pumpkin stuffed with pork sausage, cheese, greens, mushrooms, spices and bread
- Harissa roasted carrots
- Harvest salad with pears, dried dates and fids, pecans, Parmesan, and fig balsamic dressing
Of course, the food is only one aspect of a good table.
Paşaeli Aşıkara-Lot 1
There must always be wine! For this dinner, I wanted something extra special. That came by way of Paşaeli’s Aşıkara.
Aşıkara is an Aegean grape from the Buldan area of Denizli. Buldan is largely known for Sultaniye, and for good reason. The grape has largely taken over vineyards there. How Paşaeli stumbled across this small patch of Aşıkara is a miracle. And small patch is accurate. These 50 (+)-year-old bush vines offer a tiny crop from which Paşaeli only gets about 100 kg, producing very few bottles of wine.
The wine they do get ages in minimal oak, likely three to five months in large used barrels. Paşaeli’s Aşıkara glows a light brick-red offering aromas of wet forest (in a good way) and perfumed sour cherry, ras al hanout, and mahlep (but not sickly with it). Light tannins and bright acidity carry the flavors to a long finish.
Pairing-wise, the naturally spicy wine echoed and complimented the spices in both the pumpkins and carrots while the fruit highlighted the sweeter notes of the harvest salad.
What’s your favorite fall-themed dish? Better yet, what’s your favorite fall-themed dish and wine pairing? Let me know.
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