Tag: Squashes

Easy Stuffed Seasonal Squashes with Mushrooms, Grains and Herbs

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from Do Yourself a Flavour by Fliss Freeborn.

This is a beautiful meal that makes great use of those cute little squashes that come into season in the winter. It feeds two very happily, but you can also use it as a centrepiece for a meatless roast dinner, splitting this recipe between four if you have enough sides. To speed things up, pop the hollowed-out squashes in the microwave for 15 minutes while you make the filling – or bake the squash in the oven without the filling for an extra 20 minutes.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 baby squashes or pumpkins, roughly the size of large grapefruits
A very large white onion, or 2 medium ones
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp each of dried rosemary and thyme, plus ½ tsp of dried sage
400g mushrooms
Fresh thyme leaves (optional)
1 packet of pre-cooked grains, or a tin of green lentils, drained
A glug of white wine (about 75ml), or 60ml water and 1 tbsp of vinegar

Method:

  • Start by preparing the squash; make a lid with a knife and scrape out the centre and sides. Pierce the squash skins a little with a knife, then pop them both in the microwave for 15 minutes, without their lids. If they don’t fit in side by side, do them one at a time, for 8 minutes each. Preheat the oven to 200oC / 180oC fan / gas mark 6.
  • While your squash are cooking, finely chop your onion(s) and fry in the olive oil, along with a pinch of salt, a good grinding of black pepper, and the dried herbs, over a medium heat. Meanwhile, chop your mushrooms into cubes, roughly 1cm.
  • When the onions are soft, add the remaining olive oil and tip in your mushrooms, which will soak up the oil like sponges then shrink down as the water cooks out of them. Keep cooking until the mushrooms have some nice bits of colour on them; this should take around 15 minutes. If you’re using fresh thyme, add the leaves now.
  • Tip in your grains or lentils, then add the wine or vinegar water and a splash of boiling water if it’s all looking a bit dry. Cook for 5-8 minutes to heat everything through, then taste and season. Next, pull your squashes out of the microwave (careful, they’ll be hot) and place on a baking tray. Spoon in the filling.
  • Pop the lids on the squashes precariously, then bake for half an hour, or until the flesh of the squash is tender to the point of a knife.
  • Serve as it, or with some extra green veg on the side.

Pumpkin, Cheese and Rosemary Scones

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from Soup Broth Bread by Rachel Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Makes : 9

Deliciously savoury and gorgeously light in texture, these scones are great served with a hearty bowl of soup. You can use any squash instead of pumpkin and, if you fancy, add lardons of crispy bacon or diced chorizo to the mix.

Ingredients :

175g peeled and deseeded pumpkin (weight when peeled and deseeded)
1 tbsp olive oil
200g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
50g finely grated cheese (Cheddar or a hard cheese such as Parmesan)
1 egg
100ml milk, plus 1 tbsp extra for brushing over the top

Method :

  1. Preheat the oven to 200oC, 180oC fan, gas mark 6. Cut the pumpkin into 1-2 cm chunks and place on a roasting tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until tender. tip the pumpkin into a bowl (leaving the oven on) and mash very well with a fork, or blend in a food processor, then allow to cool. If using canned pumpkin puree, you’ll need 125g.
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder and cayenne pepper into a bowl and add the rosemary, salt and all but 2 tbsp of the grated cheese, reserving the remaining cheese for scattering over the scones before they go into the oven.
  3. Whisk the egg and mix with the pumpkin puree and milk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients add the wet ingredients then, with your hand in a claw shape, mix the two, making sure you don’t knead but simply mix until it comes together.
  4. Tip the mixture out on to a floured surface the tidy the sides, working it into a rough square and patting the dough out to 2 cm thick. Brush a little milk over the top and scatter with the remaining cheese, then cut the dough into 3 x 3 portions to make 9 scones.
  5. Place the scones on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. They should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack.