Thanksgiving Pumpkin
Happy Thanksgiving!
Although technically not celebrated in this country, it’s true that turkey day has gained some popularity in recent years even on this side of the pond. Perhaps partly due to our fascination with all things American and partly out of jealousy for those two whole days extra holiday that they get stateside. We could really do with a bank holiday in the autumn months!
I don’t doubt that part of it is to do with the dreaded (or anticipated?) Black Friday sales, an American import I’m particularly grateful for this year as we’ve recently received keys to our new place. We don’t have a washing machine or a hoover, so the discounts will come in handy, even if it means stepping off the high ground and begrudgingly taking part in the frenzy this year (albeit online).
There’s also been an uprise in the fascination for all things pumpkin – spiced lattes made a comeback around halloween this year and I’ve also seen recipes for soups and pies floating about. So while few over here will want to go the whole hog and have turkey in November (the brits save that for Christmas day), pumpkins are a different matter. Here are a few of my favourite ways to use up the popular squash and I should mention too that all of these would work equally well with the Butternut, Harlequin and Kaboucha varieties too.
Cheesy Pumpkin Scones
Makes 6
You will need:
175g peeled pumpkin, coarsely grated
120g strong hard cheese, like cheddar or Wensleydale
200g self raising flour, sifted
5 spring onions, chopped
1/4tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp milk
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5 and lightly oil a baking sheet. Place the grated pumpkin into a bowl with 80g of the cheese. Add the flour, spring onions, paprika and salt and stir to combine.
2. Briefly whisk the egg and milk together in a measuring jug and then slowly add to the dry ingredients, mixing all the while. You should end up with a sticky dough. Tip this out onto a floured work surface and use the palms of your hands to bring it to gather to form a smooth round.
3. Transfer to the baking sheet and reshape a little if necessary. Using the back of a knife, press into the dough, creating the indents of six triangles. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and dust with a little extra flour.
4. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown. Repeat the indenting process if necessary, then leave to cool on a wire rack. Serve as they are, with plenty of butter or use to dip into a bowl of soup.
Roasted Pumpkin with Kale, Burrata and Sumac
Serves 4
You will need:
750g pumpkin, cut into cubes
2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sumac
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
150g kale, roughly chopped
150g burrata
1 small bunch mint, leaves picked and torn
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Place the cubes of pumpkin onto a large oven tray and drizzle liberally with oil. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds, sumac and chilli flakes and season generously with sea salt and black pepper. Use your hands to mix everything together to coat the pumpkin cubes evenly with all the ingredients.
2. Place the pumpkin in the oven and roast for 25-30 mins, until golden and cooked through. Meanwhile, blanch or steam the kale until just tender. Drain completely and pat dry, then drizzle with a tsp of olive oil and toss to coat.
3. Add the pumpkin to the oven tray for the final 10 minutes of cooking, just to allow it to crisp up a little. To serve, transfer the pumpkin and kale to a plate and tear or spoon over bits of the burrata (depending on how soft). Drizzle with a little extra olive oil, scatter with the mint and serve immediately.
Honeyed pumpkin and ricotta loaf cake with muesli streusel
You will need:
For the streusel
75g butter, softened
50g light muscovado sugar
25g oats
1 tbsp plain flour
3-4 tbsp mixed nuts and seeds, like peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds
For the cake
350g self-raising flour
100g light muscovado sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
50g cooled melted butter
75g honey
1 large egg, beaten
150g ricotta
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
250g grated pumpkin
Method:
1 . Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 5. Butter and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin. Start by making the streusel. Beat the butter and sugar tougher, then add the oats and flour mixing to combine. Finally, add the nuts and stir to form a crumbly consistency. Set aside.
2. To make the cake, combine the flour, muscovado and ginger in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, egg, honey, ricotta and vanilla essence (if using).
4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until well combined, then fold through the grated pumpkin.
5. Pour into your prepared loaf tin and scatter over the streusel mixture, pressing a few of the nuts into the batter.
6. Bake for an hour until golden and cooked through when tested with a cake tester. If the nuts are going very brown towards the end of the cooking time, cover with tinfoil and continue baking. Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing and spreading with plenty of butter.
Of course, you don’t have to use fresh pumpkin at all and you certainly don’t have to make your own pumpkin puree to make a decent pumpkin pie. My local deli has started selling tins of pumpkin puree, once quite difficult to find even in London, so I nabbed a can for these cookies with pecans and brown butter frosting (is there a better kind of frosting? I’m not convinced there is…). This recipe is adapted from the second Magnolia Bakery book. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients, these are super easy.
Pumpkin Pecan Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting
Makes about 45 cookies
You will need:
For the cookies
350g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
4 tbsp vegetable oil
130g dark brown sugar
200g caster sugar
2 large eggs
250g pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
100g chopped pecans
For the frosting
220g icing sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter
Pecan halves and cinnamon to decorate (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, spices into a small bowl and mix to combine.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar before beating in the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients to the liquid ones, staring constantly to form quite a wet batter. Finally, stir in the pecans.
3. Drop the dough onto a lined baking tray in rounded spoonfuls and bake for 12-15 min, until golden coloured and risen.
4. To make the frosting, combine sugar, milk and vanilla in small bowl. Cook butter until lightly browned, 3-5 min, making sure not to burn it. Then remove it from heat, add other ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy. Cover until ready to use.
5. When cookies are completely cool, spread or drizzle the frosting onto them. Decorate with the pecans and/or a sprinkle or two of cinnamon, if you like. Serve with a tall glass of milk.
Summer Chilli
There’s definitely a chill in the air. I’m not sure where summer went exactly but I’m fairly confident it ain’t coming back. It was 7C this morning when I woke up (at an ungodly hour for some reason). Is it just me or has this has been one of the worst summers in recent memory? I’m normally quite strict about turning on the heating before 1st of October, but that went out the window last night. When it comes to food, though, I don’t feel quite ready to switch to hearty beef stews, pumpkin soup and large glasses of red wine. I’m still clinging on to lighter, fresher dishes, at least for the time being. This recipe is basically a transitional piece, perfect for when the sun still feels quite warm once the day gets going, but it may well rain later. It’s the food equivalent of a trench coat. But maybe in a bright colour.
This lighter take on a classic chilli is made with chicken and lots of fresh green veg, chilli and lime. A bit of heat and freshness in a bowl! Don’t be put off by the list of ingredients, this is a super simple and quick supper and a perfect way to use up any leftover chicken.
Summer Chicken Chilli
serves 2 with leftovers
You will need:
1 green pepper
1 whole green chill
1 clove garlic
1 banana shallot
1 lime, juice and zest
1 small bunch coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
300g cooked chicken, shredded
1 L good quality chicken stock
1 tin butter beans, drained
150g asparagus tips, cut into bite-size pieces
100g peas, fresh or frozen
100g broad beans, fresh or frozen
spring onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
lime wedges, to serve
tortilla crisps, crumbled, to serve
Method:
1. Begin by blitzing the pepper, chilli, garlic, shallot, lime zest and juice in a food processor or mini chopper along with the stalks from the coriander. Whizz to a chunky paste. Heat the oil in large saucepan and add the paste, stirring over a medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken and stir for a further couple of minutes to combine. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the butter beans, peas and broad beans and continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Divide into bowls and top with the spring onions, avocado, a little coriander, crumbled tortilla crisps and lime wedges.
Happy Thanksgiving
As I’ve mentioned before, I do love a pumpkin. Few vegetables signify a season quite as well. And, yes, I know this may in part be to our ever-expanding americanization, but I don’t mind so much in this instance. I know that the Yankee abduction of our seasons and traditions over here in Europe is often no more than a marketing ploy, but I’ll happily buy into a pumpkin fad. And anyway, they are the ultimate frugal veg because you can get so much out of them- a bargain rather than a frivolous, unnecessary splurge. So take that, Hollywood.
So every year, I buy a pumpkin and I cook with it. This year, I managed to get three decent recipes and meals from 1 medium sized pumpkin. Here are two with the final one to follow.
Spicy Thai Pumpkin Soup
Serves 2
Root Cause
It may well be the case that every shop in town thinks it’s Christmas Eve already, judging by the abundance of glitter and flashing lights. And yes, most pubs, restaurants and cafés have been touting for your staff do business since July. Sure, John Lewis has started screening it’s Yule-themed advert (not a patch on last year’s, by the way). But, in my rather stubborn book, it’s still very much autumn. After all, the yanks have only just celebrated Thanksgiving and that’s the most autumnal holiday there is (apart from Halloween, of course).
So I’m still stuck on root vegetables and making the most of them. Pumpkin in particular, at the moment, as I managed to track down a can of pumpkin puree (not as widely available here as it is in the States). I wanted to make the most of it, without resorting to making a whole pie, so did a bit of experimenting.
I’ve also recently made some celeriac soup with chestnut and sage gnocchi and scones with parsnip, cheddar and cracked black pepper. Proof if you ever needed it that these knobbly, rather ugly looking vegetables are capable of beautiful things.
Cheddar, Parsnip and Black Pepper Scones
(adapted from the Leith’s Cookery Bible’s classic scone recipe)
You will need:
225g Self raising flour
pinch of salt
black pepper
30g butter, diced
1 large parsnip, coarsely grated
60g strong cheddar cheese, grated
150ml + 2 tbsp milk
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C
2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.
3. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture is breadcrumb-like.
4. Add the grated parsnip, 50g of the grated cheddar and a good deal of ground pepper.
5. Make a well in the mixture and add 150ml of the milk, stirring to form a sticky dough.
6. Turn onto a floured work and knead until just smooth. Form/cut about 10 mini scones or 6 large ones, using a cutter, ramekin or glass (whatever you have to hand).
7. Transfer to a floured baking sheet and brush with the remaining milk. Sprinkle with a bit more of the grated cheese and a little cracked black pepper.
8. Bake in the top section of the oven for about 20 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve immediately with lots of butter.
Celeriac Soup with Chestnut and Sage Gnocchi
You will need:
For the soup:
1 onion, sliced
olive oil
1/2 celeriac, peel and chopped roughly
1 clove garlic, minced
salt, pepper
chicken stock
some torn sage leaves, to serve
For the gnocchi
500g spuds, peeled and cut into chunks
1 egg yolk
15 g Parmesan
100g plain flour
20 g butter, softened
100g chopped chestnuts
handful sage leaves
salt, pepper
Method:
1. Add the chunks of potato to a large pan and cover with water. Add a bit of salt to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the chunks are completely cooked through and mushy.
2. Meanwhile, slice the onion and fry in a little oil over a low heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Once the onion is cooked and slightly translucent, add the chunks of celeriac and minced garlic. Cook for a further minute or two, stirring constantly.
3. Add enough stock to the pan to cover the vegetables. Simmer over a low heat until the celeriac is just tender.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and return them immediately to the dry pan. Put back onto a low heat to completely dry them out, taking care not to burn them. Remove from the heat and mash thoroughly or add to a food processor and blitz until smooth.
5. Mix in the egg yolk, cheese, butter and chopped chestnuts (if you are using a food processor you can add them whole) until thoroughly incorporated. Season liberally with salt, pepper and chopped sage leaves.
6. You should now have a sticky dough. On a floured work surface, roll out sections of this dough into long sausages, about 2cm in diameter.
7. Using a kitchen knife, cut off small chunks of the sausage so that you have little oblong gnocchi shapes.
8. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the gnocchi in batches. Once they float to the top of the pan, they are done- this should only take a few minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to some kitchen roll to dry. You can use the gnocchi straight away or cool and freeze for later.
9. To serve, drain the celeriac, but hang on to the stock. Puree the vegetables with a stick blender and return to the pan, adding in the reserved stock until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and fry 3-4 gnocchi per serving, flipping and moving them around the pan constantly. They should begin to colour a bit and form a slight crust.
11. Serve the soup in hearty bowls and top with the gnocchi, some torn sage leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. The gnocchi are also delicious served on their own with a bit of sage flavoured butter and lots of Parmesan.
Pumpkin Garlic Knots
(Recipe from the Handle the Heat blog)
You will need:
230ml warm water
1 sachet (7g) fast action dried yeast
2 tbsp honey
100g pureed pumpkin (from a tin)
2 tbsp + 70 ml olive oil
1 tsp salt
525g strong white bread flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
sea salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano (or chopped fresh, if you have it)
Method:
1. In a small bowl, add the warm water and top with the dried yeast. Allow to sit for a few minutes, until slightly frothy, active and smelly.
2. Mix in the honey, 2 tbsp of the olive oil and pumpkin.
3 Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour in your wet ingredients. Beat with a wooden spoon until the ingredients start to come together.
5. At this stage, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
6. Lightly oil the large bowl and place the dough into it with a sprinkling of flour. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warmish place until it has doubled in size- this may take a couple of hours- be patient and try not to keep checking it as that is sure to drive you potty.
7. Preheat the oven to 220 C. Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knock back slightly. Tear off small sections of the dough- about 2 tbsps worth each. Roll each section into a long sausage shape and tie into a knot. Place onto an oiled baking sheet and continue to work your way through the dough. You should get about 30 small knots.
8. Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until golden. Meanwhile, combine the remaining olive oil with the oregano, sea salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Once the knots have come out of the oven and cooled slightly, toss them in this dressing mixture to coat. Leave to dry out a bit before serving. These are best when still slightly warm.
Pumpkin and Ricotta Pancakes
You will need:
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
150g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon
grating of nutmeg
200 ml milk
100 g ricotta
100g pumpkin puree (from a tin)
3 eggs
Method:
1. Combine the baking powder, salt, flour and spices in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta, puree and eggs until smooth and a bit frothy.
3. Make a well in the bowl with the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients, beating to incorporate fully. It will make for quite a thick batter.
4. Heat a large frying pan with a little bit of oil. Add a wooden spoon-full of batter to the pan, swirling to flatten a bit. Once small bubbles begin to form on the tops of the uncooked side of the pancake, flip and cook for a further 30 seconds- 1 minute.
5. Keep warm whilst you make the remaining pancakes. Serve with lashings of maple or golden syrup.
Summer Chills
I had a cold last week, which left me full of snivels this week. Summer colds don’t make any sense to me whatsoever, but because I haven’t been ill in ages, I suppose it was rather overdue.
Is it starve a fever, feed a cold? I can never remember. To be honest, when I’m ill, I seem to be hungry all the time either way, but all what I want is quite simple, nourishing food. Chicken soup is, of course, my first port of call, preferrably with plenty of buttered crackers. I made this lemony version for dinner to satisfy my craving for that bland simplicity. It’s incredibly light with a very clean and refreshing palate- perfect to heal what ails you.
The broth can easily be made with any vegetables you may have lurking in your fridge- leek, spring onion, courgette, squash. I would avoid potatoes, though, as they will make the soup a bit too starchy. I’ve kept the seasoning quite simple, but if you were feeling adventurous you could add juniper berries, fresh or dried herbs or to spice things up, chilli, ginger or lemongrass (which would be gorgeous, I’m sure).
Lemon and Chicken Broth
(serves 2)
You will need:
2 carrots, peeled
1 1/2 white onions
2 garlic clvoes
1 large parsnip
2 bay leaves
salt, pepper corns
6 chicken thighs and/or legs
1 packet rice noodles
juice of 1 lemon
handful of mint
Method:
1. Place 2.5 litres of water to boil and add the roughly chopped carrots, onions, garlic and parsnip. Bring to the boil and add the bay leaves, salt and a tablespoon of peppercorns. Reduce to a gentle simmer.
2. In the meantime, roast the chicken. Strew with salt and pepper, a little olive oil and place in a 180 degree preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the juices run clear.
3. Once the chicken has cooled a little, de-bone and chop the meat into smaller pieces. Place to one side. Add the bones and a little of the chicken fat to the pan. Simmer for a further 20-30 minutes, until your broth has a light, chicken-y flavour.
4. Strain the broth and return to the heat, discarding the veg and chicken bones. Add the cooked chicken pieces and juice of half the lemon. Cook the noodles according to the packet’s instructions.
5. Add the noodles to the broth and spoon into soup bowls. Serve with another squeeze of lemon and some torn mint.
