"If there’s one thing I love in life, I mean really, passionately adore, it’s vegetables. Sure, I love my dog and my parents, but what stirs in me genuine awe-filled wonder, what I worship with all the zeal of a fanatic, are plants.

And it’s not just in the eating. I love growing veg too. To watch a seed transform from a tiny, lifeless fleck into a triffid galumphing around your vegetable plot, sagging under the weight of its bounty is magical to me. Proper alchemy. I have found it restorative too. Growing my own food has brought me closer to the land, closer to nature, and given me hope and inspiration when I needed it most."

We are extremely excited to be collaborating with Kathy Slack, food writer, cook and passionate veg grower, on a new quarterly editorial series that celebrates vegetables in all their glory. Each article will spotlight a variety of in-season veg, reveal delicious recipes and elevate your vegetable growing skills with insightful tips. If there’s anything Kathy doesn’t know about veg, then it’s not worth knowing.

So, join us for this delicious celebration of all things vegetable – the first in this four part series will be available in late October. And if you can’t wait until then, Kathy’s debut cookbook, From the Veg Patch, is available now.

But here’s a little more, in her own words, from Kathy before you go…

Where Vegetables Are Concerned, Count Me In...

Now, not all vegetables are born equal. A January tomato from tired, polytunneled soil, wrapped in plastic, transported across the globe and persuaded to turn red on the journey will taste nothing, nothing, like a sun-ripened tomato, grown with careful hands and loving hearts in August in the British countryside.

This second tomato, and much more besides, is what Fortnum's stocks, and why I'm so excited to be working with them as their veg expert. I'm like a kid in a sweet shop when I walk around the veg section in Fortnum's Food Hall - it's the pinnacle of veg-filled flavour. I can't wait to celebrate the best of each season, meticulously sourced by Fortnum's from the most knowledgeable growers around, and to offer some ways to put top-quality vegetables at the centre of the plate.

How to Think About Vegetables

Whatever the season, when it comes to making vegetables the star of the show in your cooking, there are a few tricks which will ensure you are always set up for success:

Go Seasonal or Go Home

If your main ingredient is a vegetable, make sure it's in season. This way, you are guaranteed the best possible flavour. Out of season veg is a bland imitation of the real thing.

What Grows Together Goes Together

If you can't think of what to pair with your hero vegetable, think about what else is growing at the same time. Pumpkins, for example, are great with kale, leeks, parsley - all of which grow in Autumn, as do pumpkins. But it would be odd, and not very tasty, to pair pumpkins with, say, peas, basil, radishes - which are springtime crops.

Balance Textures as well as Flavours

We know to think about different flavours when we cook. A creamy, sweet pumpkin mash, for example, loves a peppery, acid kick of salsa verde. Mild goats cheese is brought to life by sweet and sour pickled beetroot. But don't forget about combinations of textures too. for example, a dish that only has soft textures would be boring, so we add crunch. That's why soups love croutons, baked apples love clusters of crumble, and a few nuts or seeds can transform a salad.