The squash continues

The brilliance of using up your fridge leftovers is always a moment of joy. Like rummaging through the wardrobe looking for the first scarf of the winter and coming across the headphones I'd been wondering about for the past six months. Or going to put a new photo in the frame on my desk only to find an old treasure fall out from behind the frame back. 


The pleasance of surprise constantly thrills me and no more than the creation of deliciousness from those half eaten meals and odd cling film parcels which ordinarily would eventually end up as bird food on the window ledge at very best. Soup at times like these has to be your best friend indeed. 


I tend to always have the semblance of a chicken stock of some description lurking somewhere in the freezer but this is habit for me and makes barely a difference to the end result when water does just fine. I had pretty much all the ingredients below after that butternut squash risotto I made the other day, so this was basically as easy as making soup. A little bowl of this lightly spiced soup makes a warming starter for a winter celebration meal.

Butternut squash soup

Serves 4-6

2 tblsp olive oil
Few knobs of butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 1 litre hot chicken stock
1 heaped tsp mild curry powder
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 apples, cored and sliced with skin on
4-6 thin rashers of pancetta, halved
Small handful of coriander, leaves chopped
Heat a heavy-based pan with the olive oil and butter, then add the onions, bay leaves and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well, then cover the pan with a lid and cook over a low heat for 5-7 minutes until the onions begin to soften.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer in another saucepan. Add the curry powder to the onions and stir for another minute. Tip in the squash and add a little more oil to prevent the squash from scorching too quickly. (It will also give the finished soup a velvety texture.) Cook for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and lightly caramelised. 


Throw in the apples at this stage and pour in just enough hot stock to cover everything and gently simmer for another 5-10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, lay the pancetta in a single layer in a hot non stick frying pan. Fry over medium heat until golden-brown and crisp. Turn over to cook the other side. Drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool slightly.

Fish out and discard the bay leaves. In batches, purée the soup in a food processor or liquidiser until smooth. Return the soup to the pan to reheat. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with some chopped coriander and a slice of crispy pancetta on top. 

Easy start to Sunday

There's nothing quite like an easy start to Sunday, whether it's to recover from the previous evening's frivolities or to prepare for the family to descend for lunch.  Breakfast is traditionally the most important meal of the day, but the luxury of a lazy breakfast at the weekends, means it often turns into brunch.  

So, if you can't decide whether it's a late breakfast or an early lunch your taste buds are craving opt for something that will cover both.  

Eggs, a staple breakfast component for centuries, have had their fair share of bad publicity, but I've yet to truly believe that they can be anything but goodness.  They bring life to food, get you started for the day, and feed both the brain and the soul.  As long as you have half a dozen eggs in your store cupboard and a decent frying pan you'll always have brunch, and any added extras are just a bonus.

Scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and bagels

Serves 2-3

6 large free range eggs
25g ice cold butter, cut into small dice
1 tblsp crème fraîche
freshly ground sea salt and pepper
Few chives, snipped
2-3 bagels of your choice, toasted

400g smoked salmon slices

Break the eggs into a cold, heavy-based pan, place on the lowest heat possible, and add half the butter. Using a spatula, stir the eggs frequently to combine the yolks with the whites.

As the mixture begins to set, add the remaining butter. The eggs will take about 4-5 minutes to scramble – they should still be soft and quite lumpy. Don’t let them get too hot – keep moving the pan off and back on the heat.

Meanwhile, toast the bagels.

Add the crème fraîche and season the eggs at the last minute, then add the snipped chives. Put the split bagels on warm plates, pile the softly scrambled eggs on top, fold over the smoked salmon and serve immediately.

Butternut squash, mozzarella and caramelised garlic risotto with shallots

Serves 4

I love my family, just in the same way the squash and the pumpkin relationship work with each other. With either one of the squash family of vegetables, most recipes that call for a member will work in one shape or another. Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to Mexico and Central America: Squashes, Pumpkins, Courgettes and Marrow (or zucchini if you must) and finally Gourds. That chilly time on the cusp of both autumn and winter is true squash time, and having one hanging in my fridge almost makes the season for me. I'm using oven roasted butternut in this risotto today, and should there be any of that and the broth left over, that'll be tomorrow's soup with the addition of a few crispy strips of smoked bacon.

Risotto is a terrific carrier for any of these vegetables,  anything rich, creamy and cheesy will accept the bitter roughness often leached from these dudes, soaking it up like a fluffy bath mat. 

Once the basics of risotto making is mastered, the flavour combinations can easily be as varied as what you'd put through any pasta, stuff into any sandwich or pile on any pizza. Don't hold back. Make it seasonal. Make it now. 

400g butternut squash
olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and diced
55g unsalted butter
200g risotto rice
700ml chicken broth, hot
55g Parmesan, grated
125g buffalo mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

pesto

1 large bunch fresh basil
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tblsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
about 3 tblsp olive oil
3 tblsp freshly grated Parmesan

crispy shallots

55g shallots, peeled and finely sliced
115g plain flour, seasoned vegetable oil for frying

caramelised garlic

16 garlic cloves
200ml chicken broth, hot
25g unsalted butter

Put the basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor with a little salt and pepper, work to a paste, and add enough olive oil to produce a loose-textured puree. Remove from the food processor, pour into a bowl and fold in Parmesan.

Dust the shallots in seasoned flour, shake off any excess and deep-fry in vegetable oil at 160°C /320°F. When they are a light golden brown, remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Season with a little salt and keep on a warm plate.

Blanch the garlic in a pan of salted boiling water for about 3 minutes, then peel and transfer to a clean pan. Pour off the water and add the chicken broth and butter. Cook until the garlic is soft and the broth is reduced to syrup that coats the cloves. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Peel and seed the butternut squash, dice into 1cm cubes and fry in a little olive oil until lightly coloured. Transfer to the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the flesh is tender. Meanwhile, gently sweat the diced onion in the butter until the onion is soft. Add the rice to the onion; raise the heat and cook, stirring, until the rice is shiny and translucent. Lower the heat and begin to add the hot broth, a ladleful at a time, wait for it to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful.

Once the rice is cooked to al dente and of the correct texture, fold in the Parmesan, mozzarella and squash, and cook for 2 minutes more, check and season to taste.

Serve immediately on hot plates, drizzle the pesto around the risotto and top with a small pile of crisp shallots and caramelised garlic cloves. But if you want to speed up the whole process, lose the shallots and garlic, and there's a 30 minute midweek supper with enough leftovers for tomorrow's soup.

Baked pheasant with figs and marsala sauce

Serves 4

Just in the same way that the mushrooms are out in force, the feathered game season has hit us hard and fast, with early offerings of pheasant. Some are saying it's a better grouse season than first expected, which bodes well for the next couple of months. I'm as strong an advocate for this whole seasonal eating malarky as I am a wearer of colourful socks, so its a bit of a passion of mine I guess. As much as I'm loving my current city posting in the States, I do miss getting out there with nature and finding my own dinner, little beats it. Even the youngest of pheasant can have quite a powerful aroma and gamey flavour, and is best paired with a strongly flavoured sauce. Caramelised figs cut through the richness in this dish, but you could also do the same with peeled and quartered apples and pears.

75g butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 oven-ready pheasants
250ml dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, chopped
500ml good quality chicken stock
6 ripe firm purple figs, halved
2 shallots, chopped
1 tsp plain flour
250ml marsala
2 tblsp of flat leaf parsley, freshly chopped
Handful of toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Melt two thirds of the butter in a cast-iron casserole dish or roasting pan. Season the pheasants, then sauté in the butter on all sides until lightly golden. Add the wine, garlic and chicken stock and roast in the oven, cooking the birds for 20 minutes on each side. Remove the birds and keep warm. Strain the cooking liquor, then boil until it has reduced by half.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and cook the figs, cut-side down, for 2-3 minutes without turning, until lightly caramelised. Remove the figs, reserving the butter, and set aside.

Add the shallots to the pan and sauté for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden. Sprinkle over the flour, then gradually stir in the marsala. Bring to the boil and reduce by two thirds.

Stir in the remaining cooking liquor and any juices from the pheasants. Cook for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth sauce. Add the figs to the sauce, then simmer gently for 3 minutes. Check for seasoning and stir in the parsley. Carve the pheasant, pour the sauce over and sprinkle with the walnuts. Serve with fried polenta or mashed potato.


For skills, techniques and tips... kitchen how to... 

Mushrooms on toast

Serves 4

The mushrooms are out! I picked a couple of handsome puffballs tucked under the safety of a huge yew tree this morning, and I just feel there's a huge season just about to explode. This really is the time of year when nature shows off some of her more wonderous creations.

A terrific Sunday brunch number here, and with the addition of a poached egg, an awesome start to a lazy day. I love this as it is, but if you’re at the right time of the year when wild mushrooms are in season, or your farmers market has some interesting varieties, do not hold back. Otherwise, good firm all year round varieties will hold up well enough.

Remove the bread element and throw the remainder of this recipe through hot pasta and there’s another dish to add to your repertoire too. Take the same ingredients and throw over a couple of cups of hot stock, cook for another 5 minutes then liquidise and you've got soup!

12 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tblsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

Few thyme sprigs, leaves only

1 garlic clove (unpeeled)

lightly crushed sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

14 oz sliced mushrooms

Few knobs of butter

Splash of sherry vinegar

Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

4 thick slices of rustic white bread

Sauté the shallots in a pan over medium heat with the olive oil, thyme, garlic and seasoning for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften. Add the sugar and increase the heat to high. Stir and cook for a few more minutes until the shallots are lightly caramelised.

Add the mushrooms and butter. Fry for a couple of minutes until lightly browned, then splash in the sherry vinegar and add a little more seasoning. Cook for a minute or two until the liquid has evaporated. Toss in the parsley.

Toast the bread and place a slice on each warm plate. Spoon the shallots and mushrooms on top and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve, if you like shave over some Parmesan too. I'm actually now pretty freezing, so the soup version gets the nod for lunch...

The chilli off

So, last night saw the inaugural residence chilli off, and a variety of the most weird and wonderful showed up with no two the same which was both frightening and impressive in the same mouthful. The whole chilli debate is still raging the day after, beans or no beans, chocolate, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary  and apricots all featured last night, but did they work? One of the most surprising was started barely an hour before we gathered, some went on the stove three days ago!

Here's my number, which humbly, was pretty awesome should I say so myself, the half beef classically prepared with the other half made up of the smoked pork made mine the champion, well in my house anyways! 

Serves 4-6

1 large onion or 2 banana shallots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Half a head of celery, finely chopped

2 chipotle chillis, deseeded or keep half with seeds if you like it spicy

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked and roughly chopped

Olive oil, for frying

500g good quality minced sirloin of beef

300g pork belly, barbecued/smoked and minced

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1 beef tomato, roughly chopped

400g chopped tinned tomatoes

2 tblsp tomato puree

100-200ml chicken or beef stock

3 tblsp tomato puree

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

400g kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper

Handful of chives, chopped

200ml soured cream

Boiled rice, to serve

Sweat the onion, garlic, celery, chilli and thyme in 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan. At the same time, brown the mince in a separate pan over moderate heat in a little oil.

Add the dried spices to the onion mixture and cook until they release their aroma. Then stir in the beef and mix well. Add in the pork at this stage. Add the fresh and tinned tomatoes and leave to cook down a little for at least 30 minutes.

Pour in the chicken or beef stock and stir in tomato puree to taste. Drop the cinnamon and bay leaf in then bring to the boil and leave to simmer. Transfer this now to a slow oven, around 150c/300f, covered, for up to 2 hours, checking occasionally. Remove from the oven now that the sauce has thickened, add the kidney beans and leave to cook for another 5-10 minutes to allow the beans to soak up the flavours. Check for seasoning.

Mix the chives and soured cream together. To serve, spoon the chilli into the centre of a mound of rice, with the soured cream and chives in a separate bowl on the side. World champion material if ever I saw. This is the stuff you really want on your chilli dog...

The tomatoes are over, but I'm not over tomatoes

With the potential glut of tomatoes now that the fabulous season we've just been through is coming to a glorious close, here’s something that’ll please almost everybody for a while to come. Early season tomatoes have their best uses in fresh, lightly cooked tomato sauces for pasta or as a bruschetta topping for example. Some shallots, garlic and oregano helps to lift the youthful and maybe fairly underdeveloped flavours a bit.


Mid season brings us plant establishment, heavier sun and mature flavour - there's a period through July and August where during which little more than a pinch of good salt and a twist of pepper is often all that's needed to dress a fully ripe tomato. Now in their final scene, with the branches withering and the fruit seeming a little tougher skinned and drained of colour, this recipe for ketchup to take us into the next season does the trick.


This yields rather a lot, but it will keep for at least a month in a covered container in the fridge.


Proper tomato ketchup


5kg ripe tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp four spice mix
1½ tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp salt
4 tblsp icing sugar
1 tblsp white wine vinegar


Core the tomatoes and reserve the stems. Place the tomatoes in a pressure cooker and add water to a depth of 1cm. Bring the cooker to full pressure for 20 minutes and then allow to cool. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, slowly cook the tomatoes over a medium-low heat for about 45 minutes. Pass the tomatoes and liquid through a sieve, discarding the leftovers.


Add all the other ingredients, except the icing sugar, the vinegar and the stems, to the tomatoes. Place in a pan and simmer slowly over a low heat until it is reduced by half - this will take about 4 hours. Pass the mixture through a sieve again. Add the icing sugar, return to the pan and continue to reduce over a low heat until it reaches a ketchup-like consistency - this will take just over an hour.


Allow to cool, and then add the vinegar. Finally, place the reserved tomato stems into the ketchup mixture for a few hours to infuse it with the fresh vine odour - it’s important to do this after the mixture has cooled, as the vine aroma is destroyed by heat. Discard the stems before serving.