What’s in season in October

Vibrant and versatile squash is great roasted – there's no need to peel, just remove the seeds and slice into thick wedges before tossing in olive oil and roasting until tender. You can add spices, such as warming ras el hanout or punchy ancho chilli flakes, to amp up the flavour. Squash has a creamy, velvety texture, which means it's excellent blitzed in soups or used to add body to risotto. Salty flavours work well with its sweetness – try it with sharp cheddar in my easy pasta bake or alongside those other autumn stalwarts, sausages, sage and apple, in this gorgeous sausage traybake recipe.

A pumpkin isn't just for Halloween – this sweet and nutty veggie deserves to play a starring role in your autumn cooking, too. Even if you're carving it, opt for an edible pumpkin (all M&S pumpkins are) so you can avoid food waste and cook something lovely. Like squash, pumpkins are great roasted and can stand up to punchy spices like chilli and cumin seeds – they're great in curries. They also work wonderfully in sweet dishes, from pies to pancakes, where the naturally sweet flavour will be enhanced by warming spices like cinnamon, vanilla and cardamom. A pumpkin soup is an absolute classic, and my version takes it to the next level with the addition of nutty burnt hazelnut butter and sage.

British apple season is still going strong in October, with some wonderful heritage varieties in the Foodhall at M&S. Because all the apples are tree-ripened, they’re some of the sweetest you can get. Look out for the vivid red-fleshed Kissabel apples at this time of year. As well as their distinctive appearance, they have a tart, sweet and refreshing flavour and juicy texture.

With their deep, burnished green colour flecked with candy-pink rainbow stripes, Swiss chard is one of the most visually appealing veggies out there. It comes into its own at this time of year along with dark-green cavolo nero, with its mottled leaves. Both make a lovely side dish when simply cooked with garlic, chilli and lemon zest, or give them a starring role in tarts and veg-packed fritters. Slowly cook the stalks in olive oil and butter before adding the leaves at the last minute to keep them really tender and fresh. You can also try blitzing into a pesto. However you choose to cook them, M&S work with trusted growers who only choose the pick of the crop.