Pumpkin Mac 'n' Cheese

This a lovely autumnal dish, that is ideal for this week when households are awash with Halloween pumpkins and squash. Rather than throw them out, it’s great to cook with pumpkins – they are packed with tons of vitamins and most importantly, it tastes great.

Mac n cheese is a family favourite - rich, oozing, delicious cheesy pasta with the addition of sweet roasted pumpkin only improves it further.  

If you'd rather make without the pumpkin - just follow the recipe below and omit the instructions re pumpkins. I roast the pumpkin whole and then cut it when softened to remove the hard work, as it can be tricky to chop raw. 

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

The below serves 6.

Here’s how:

• 1 large squash or pumpkin
• 400g macaroni
• 1.5 tbsp plain flour
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 250ml full fat milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 55g Cheddar
• 30g Red Leicester
• 10g Grana Padana
• Nutmeg
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper 
• Firstly place the oven on high at 200 degrees, pop the squash on a baking tray and place in the centre to roast for 30 minutes. 

Fill and boil the kettle.

Now in a pan, melt the butter gently, once fully melted add the flour and mustard powder and use a wooden spoon to quickly mix all together and form a roux. Once all combined add the milk, slowly, a little bit at a time, wach time quickly stirring to combine the roux and form the basis of the sauce. Add the bay leaves here to flavour and season and allow to cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes.

Grate all of the cheeses and leave a small handful aside for the topping, and add the rest to the roux, again stirring all the time. The cheese will melt down and thicken the sauce. Now grate in lots of nutmeg, it's difficult to give an exact measurement, but I like to add quite a bit, probably around a quarter of the nutmeg, it gives a lovely warming flavour.

Now cook the macaroni for 7 minutes in the boiled water with another pinch of salt, then drain and add to the cheese sauce and remove from the heat. Stir to ensure the pasta is all coated gloriously in the cheese sauce.

Now remove the squash from the oven and cut in half, then remove the seeds and anything inedible. Scoop out the flesh and place into a saucepan. Once all is out, roughly mash with a potato masher and then stir through the mac and cheese.

Pour the cheesy pasta into a dish and then scatter over the remaining cheese and place into the oven for thirty minutes or until the cheese is oozing and beginning to brown.

Portion up and if serving to children, allow to cool for a few minutes, so they don't burn their mouths. Enjoy!

A couple of other pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin & Spinach Lasagne
Simple & Skinny Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagne

Having a bit of a haul from our Pumpkin Picking on Sunday, I created this vegetarian Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagne on Monday – another Meat Free Monday option added to the repertoire.

I must admit, usually I would make my own béchamel or white sauce for lasagne, but as I had a sick boyfriend at home and our toddler to run around after and was batch cooking for the week, I took a cheat here and used the Dolmio Lasagne Sauce – which actually is pretty decent and I wouldn’t hesitate to use again as a shortcut. I’m not one for processed sauces, but sometimes the need for speed overtakes and the pressures of family and working life intervene.

This was a family dinner favourite – anything involving pasta always is with my daughter and Glen; Glen’s slightly harder to please with our meat-free options, but this went down well and we all agreed we’d have it again.

I thought I’d share this in honour of Pumpkin Day this Saturday in the lead up to Halloween.

Here’s how:

1 small roasted pumpkin (can use butternut squash)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion
1 clove garlic
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp paprika
1 pack washed spinach
Lasagne sheets
1 jar Dolmio Lasagne White Sauce
50g grated Cheddar cheese
1 whole nutmeg
Salt & Pepper

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Roast the pumpkin until slightly softened. Allow the pumpkin to cool, then peel, and chop the flesh into long slice, discarding the pith and seeds inside (unless you’re using the pumpkin seeds for roasting and snacking on). Set aside.

To make the tomato sauce, add the olive oil to a pan on a low heat. Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to sauté slowly in the olive oil on a gentle heat.

Once slightly softened, add the tomatoes (could use passata), tomato puree, oregano, paprika and a pinch each of sea salt and black pepper to season. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and allow to cook for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have it.

Once you’re happy with the sauce, remove from the heat and you’re ready to assemble the lasagne.

Firstly lay a layer of pumpkin at the bottom of an oven proof dish. Then spoon over a generous amount of the tomato sauce (you’ll need two layers so use about half). 

Next place the lasagne sheets over the top – don’t layer these on top of each other or they become a bit yucky in cooking.

Now pour over the Dolmio White Sauce to cover the sheets sufficiently. Now grate the nutmeg over really generously – this gives a really lovely warming flavour and really complements the dish, so be super generous.

Scatter over a really generous amount of spinach leaves – only one layer is spinach and it wilts quickly so add more, rather than less. 

Now repeat the process of adding the pumpkin, topped with tomato sauce then the lasagne sheets and white sauce.

Once again, grate over a really generous amount of nutmeg over the top with salt and black pepper and finish with the Cheddar before placing into the oven.

Cook for 35-40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and bubbling away. Serve with a handful of green salad leaves, such as watercress or rocket. Enjoy! 

Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Following a lovely pumpkin-picking session at The Pumpkin Patch on Sunday, I made this delicious Thai-inspired Pumpkin Soup on Monday for me, Glen who was at home poorly, and Bridget, for a healthy, hearty and warming lunch.

It’s super simple to make, tastes great and you could make a huge batch of it if you so wished. After pumpkin season has passed, you could substitute the pumpkin for butternut squash; which is readily available throughout the year, or even sweet potatoes. But for a lovely, Halloween-inspired meal, this is a great choice – and it works for vegetarians too.

If you're catering for little ones or those without a heat tolerance - maybe tone down the chilli usage to just half a red chilli - we don't need to as Bridget loves a bit of spice and it's a great family meal.

Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Here’s how:

• 1 small roasted pumpkin, or half a larger one (roast for 40 minutes)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 large white onion
• 1 red chilli
• 1 clove garlic
• Two thumb nail piece of fresh ginger
• Two sticks celery
• Handful fresh coriander
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 can coconut milk
• 150ml vegetable stock
• ½ Lime

I like to roast the pumpkin for 30-40 minutes first, then allow to cool, peel and chop into bite-sized chunks, discarding the centre seeds and pith, unless you are doing something with the seeds.

Place the coconut oil into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place onto a medium heat.

Now peel and dice the onion and add to the saucepan to slowly sauté. Peel and mince the garlic and chop the chilli and add to the mix. Slice the celery and add to the saucepan, and peel and slice the ginger and again, add to the saucepan.

Add the pumpkin then pour over the pumpkin and vegetable stock, add the kaffir lime leaves and allow to cook down for 30 minutes or so, to allow the pumpkin to absorb all of the beautiful, fragrant flavours.

After 30 minutes, remove the kaffir lime leaves, add the coriander leaves and the juice of half a lime and allow to cool a little.

Once sufficiently cooled, use a hand blender or food processor to blitz to a fine soup consistency.

Return to the pot, and place on a medium heat to bring it back up to the required temperature. Serve with some delicious bread – enjoy!

Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Picking at The Pumpkin Patch, Basildon, Essex

On Sunday, Glen, Bridget and I enjoyed a lovely hour of pumpkin-picking at The Pumpkin Patch, Foxes Farm in Basildon, Essex as a family weekend activity in the lead-up to Halloween next week.

The Pumpkin Patch, Foxes Farm

Despite it being bitingly cold, we wrapped ourselves up with layers and Bridget really enjoyed choosing our three pumpkins to bring home – with the intention of cooking with and some Halloween-inspired decorating.

A huge field jam-packed with piles and piles of pumpkins plus a few more ad hoc ones, dotted around – of every perceivable colour and size – it truly was a sight to behold and the sheer level of people taking advantage of the Pumpkin Patch was impressive too.

There was also ‘spooky’ sweetcorn to be picked, as this is one of Bridget’s favourite things to eat, we loved taking her around and showing her that the corn grows from the ground – such a lovely, fun and educational activity to do with children of all ages.

There was a walking trail amongst the corn rows, but we’d gotten just a little too cold by then, so didn’t take advantage of it this time. 

If you have older children too, there are some big hay stacks dotted around for climbing and photo opportunity fun, plus some even more fun and games – pumpkin bowling and pumpkin noughts and crosses which I thought was a really fun, cute activity. 

Proud of her pumpkin

It’s free entry to the Pumpkin Patch – you just pay for the pumpkins you want to take away with you, ranging from anything from £1.00 to £9.00 depending on the size, so it’s a lovely cheap pursuit for families. It’s open throughout half term this week too and is just a couple of minute’s’ drive from Barleylands – where you have the farm, a few retail outlets and the lovely Tiptree Tea Room where I can thoroughly recommend a scone and a warming cup of tea.

Daddy and Bridget enjoying the haystack

Bumpkin - Pumpkin hiding my bump

The Pumpkin Patch can be found just off the A12 on Wash Road, Noak Bridge, Basildon, Essex, SS15 4BP.

Enjoy!

A Belated Thanksgiving Post

Before I begin, an apology for the 6-month delay on this and any other posts. As it tends to do, life has simply got the way a tad. December was the usual whirlwind of parties and then in January I found out I was expecting and my life just seemed to get even crazier hectic than usual. I've tried to fit in a little writing this week and as I'll be finishing working duties in a matter of a month or so, I'm hoping not to be so slack.

I was invited by the lovely Food Urchin, way back in November to a Thanksgiving soiree at his home, close to where I live in Essex. This was part of a project he was taking part in with Great British Chefs. On the evening in question I arrived to be greeted by a glass of fizz, Danny (Mr Food Urchin) Gary of Big Spud, Danny's lovely wife and a couple of his friends - a nice start to the festivities.

We sat down to our first course - a tagliatelle with chestnuts, bacon, a sage black butter and a pumpkin velouté. Poor Danny had had a slight nightmare - this was supposed to be tortellini - however as with many wonderful things, the result of this 'mistake' was very pleasing indeed. A light and flavourful sweet note from the pumpkin was set off beautifully by the delicate crunch of the chestnuts and as Danny pointed out, almost everything is improved by bacon. I might add that as well as being an enjoyable dish it was also a rather attractive plate of food too. Bonus. 

By the main event the wine was flowing nicely and conversation was lively - we were ready for the star of the show, the turkey. Happily Danny had used Great British Chef's bank of recipes and came up with an inventive ballotine of soft, moist, melt in the mouth turkey wrapped in Parma ham and with soft, buttery spinach running through it. Wonderful, and a refreshing change from roasted bird. The accompaniments too were fantastic - baby carrots and braised baby gems (a dish I'd never tried but have since recreated at home) and an utterly gorgeous potato rosti. Being the slave to carbs that I am I do love potatoes in all their glorious formats but there is something special and slightly naughty about a rosti and Danny pulled it off perfectly. Soft, well-seasoned potato was encased in a crispy exterior for that all important crunch-factor. The whole dish was prettily dressed with a red wine and thyme jus that tasted as good as it looked. Hat's off to the chef for this as it was a truly gorgeous plate of food prepared in front of us with the minimum of fuss. 

Our final course was an unusual treat - a spiced apple crumble slice, or a hybrid of crumble and pie - for me the perfect pudding. With an old-school hearty stodginess about it (as all crumbles and pies should), it still managed to appear refined. Expertly spiced with soft, juicy cooked apples, the delicious crunch of the crumble and a little vanilla ice cream made for a marvellous mouthful.

I must mention this evening was put on in association with one of Great British Chef's wine partners' - Corney & Barrow and each course was well matched with a different plonk. The dessert wine was my favourite, not least for its comedic name - Sticky Micky Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. It was absolutely delicious, sweet but with an acidic tang that worked well the apple crumble pie. 

I had a wonderful evening with great company and even better food. Thanks again to Food Urchin and apologies for the incredibly tardy post! 

Applewood Spreadable Challenge: Cheese and Vegetable Pie with Kale and Chorizo

This is my third and final recipe that I have created as part of the Applewood Spreadable #SpreadStirShare challenge in which 20 food bloggers have been tasked with devising some interesting and delicious family recipes using Applewood Spreadable as an ingredient. I have already posted my Cheesy Pea, Leek and Pancetta Gnocchi Bake and the Creamy Pea, Courgette and Mint Risotto, and my final recipe that I enjoyed last night was a Cheese and Vegetable Pie with a side of Kale with Chorizo.

Of the three recipes, this has to be my favourite – but then I do love anything encased in gorgeous pastry, it’s so comforting on a cold, wet winter’s day, and this is a delicious pie filling that I will absolutely be making again.

I used pumpkin, broccoli and leeks in my pie, but you could experiment with whatever you had to hand really. I made a traditional roux – mixing equal parts of butter with plain flour as the basis for this unctuous, decadent cheese sauce, as well as mixing equal parts of the smoky Applewood Spreadable cheese with unsmoked Cheddar.

The kale and chorizo side was to convince the boyfriend that we can sit down to dinner without a big hunk of meat or fillet of fish and with, instead, just a little smidge of meat-stuffs and I’m happy to report he agreed after this lovely meal. This served the two of us comfortably with one portion left over for lunch today – just increase the portion sizes to stretch further!

Here’s how:

1 small pumpkin

1 broccoli head

2 leeks, trimmed

50g plain flour

50g salted butter

65g Applewood Spreadable

65g Cheddar (I used some Cathedral City I had in my fridge)

300ml milk (I used full fat)

Salt & Pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

250g puff pastry (I used Jus Rol)

1 beaten egg

100g kale

100g chorizo cooking sausages

Firstly cut the pumpkin in half carefully, and scoop out all of the seeds. Either retain to toast and enjoy later on or discard. Place on a piece of baking paper on a baking sheet and place in the oven at around 180-200 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime chop off the florets of broccoli and chop up into bite-size pieces. Plunge into some boiling, salted water and cook for 3-4 minutes, to ensure there will be no biting into rock hard vegetables in the pie. Then drain and put to the side.

Once the pumpkin is out of the oven and cool enough to handle, remove the skin and chop into small, bite-sized chunks. Place into an ovenproof dish, and then add the broccoli.

Chop the leeks and then add these, raw to the pie dish with the broccoli and pumpkin.

Next up it’s time to make your cheese sauce. Firstly weigh everything out equally in advance so there is no mad scramble mid-sauce-making as it is a bit of a delicate procedure and needs care and attention! Add the butter to the pan (a tip is to add it in small little knobs so it takes less time to melt and is less likely to burn) – keep on a low heat throughout.

Once the butter is melted, gently add a little of the flour at a time stirring in each time with a wooden spoon or whisk in gently with a balloon whisk. Keep repeating this process until all of the flour has been mixed in.

Now you will add your milk, a little at a time. You may not even need the 300ml, it will depend on how you prefer the consistency of the sauce to be. Once you’ve added about half, add the cheese. I firstly added the grated Cheddar and mixed through until melted through and part of the now-thickening sauce. If you need to, add a little more milk and then add the Applewood Spreadable, again stirring all the while.

Once you are happy with the consistency (it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and velvety smooth with no lumps), continue to cook on a low heat for a further five minutes to ensure the flour is all cooked out.

Remove from the heat, season generously and add a pinch of nutmeg or even cinnamon to add a little warming spice. Taste at this point to ensure it has the right flavour to your taste, if not add more cheese for a cheesier flavour or a little more milk for a milder taste.

Now cover the vegetables with the cheese sauce, using a spoon to ensure each piece of vegetable is nicely coated and place to the side for a moment. If you hadn’t already – get your oven pre-heating at this point at 180-200 degrees.

Now roll your pastry out accordingly so it will fit snugly over the pie. I baked this as a ‘pot pie’ with a just a pastry topping to cut the calories down a little, as it still gives that huge comforting joy of eating a pie, but isn’t quite as naughty. You could of course also top this with mashed potato and a little grated cheese too, but for me puff pastry is king.

Once you’ve covered the pie, egg wash it so it becomes lovely and golden and place into the oven. If you are artistic you could try and make a beautiful puff pastry garnish out of the excess pastry – if you are artistically challenged like myself, you could create something less adventurous:

The pie needs baking for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and ten minutes before the end of baking you can start preparing the side dish. 

Firstly chop 100g chorizo sausages into small cubes and add to a dry pan on a medium heat. Chorizo always exudes its own oils, so none is needed here. Once the chorizo has cooked for a good few minutes and is nicely charred on all sides, add the washed kale to the pan and mix continuously. It is more cabbage-like than spinach in the heat and does retain its pretty shape, a few minutes of cooking and this is ready to serve.

Remove the pie from the oven and dish up. Enjoy!

To keep up with the remaining Applewood Spreadable challenge follow the #SpreadStirShare hash tag and check out the Applewood blog for details on the winner due to be announced at the end of this month: http://applewoodcheese.co.uk/blog.php