Bit of a squash

The appearance of winter squash on the menu is a turning point. Though botanically a paid-up member of the hot-house brigade, in terms of taste and use it belongs with the starchier, more filling winter crops. Its arrival signals a shift from the fresher, sharper tastes of summer to more warming, comforting fare. Its nutty, earthy taste is the perfect complement to winter roasts and roots - and I’ve long been convinced that squash is the missing link in the Christmas dinner line-up.

Classic roasts
Roasting brings out the best in a squash, capturing and concentrating its flavour. Baste chunks, strips or slices in olive oil - then elaborate as you see fit. Add garlic, thyme, rosemary, chilli flakes, lemon juice, or any combination of the above, or baste the chunks with honey, brown sugar or orange juice. Mix spices into the oil; try curry powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, nutmeg or ginger.

Partner the roasting chunks with potatoes, parsnips or peppers, or roast them around a joint: squash goes well with poultry, pork and lamb. Roast entire squash halves, then stuff the seed cavities with bacon and blue cheese or roasted vegetables or spiced couscous mixed with nuts and sultanas. Add roasted squash to a warm salad; good partners include white or blue cheese, dried fruit, ham or bacon, pulses, chestnuts, pine nuts – and indeed roasted squash seeds, which also make an addictive snack.

Pan-fried perfection
Boiling or steaming squash can produce insipid results, but pan-frying is an alternative to roasting; sauté chunks or slices over a high heat to seal in the flavour, teaming them with peppers, Brussels sprouts and chestnuts or chestnut mushrooms. Squash mash is the other way to go; it makes an excellent foil for any kind of pork and would also make a perfect - if iconoclastic - partner for haggis. Roast or steam the squash, then mash it - with or without the addition of potatoes - with any combination of blue cheese, cream and wholegrain mustard. For something more continental, first roast the squash with olive oil, garlic and thyme (add Parmesan to make a filling for ravioli).

Creamy soups
Squash makes the basis of a richly satisfying cream soup; team it with apples and sage, with red lentils and creamed coconut, with blue cheese, or with curry spices and coconut milk. Add squash to a curry or a vegetarian chilli; it combines well with all sorts of pulses, particularly lentils, butter beans and chickpeas. Make it into a stew with red pepper, onions and garlic, flavoured with spices, coconut milk and fresh coriander; sauté it with apple, add cream, wine and wholegrain mustard, and serve it with pork; or roast it with sage, then add it to a risotto with toasted pine nuts and Parmesan.

American pie
Squash - here one should perhaps more properly say pumpkin - has not really caught on as a constituent of desserts this side of the pond, but if you have a transatlantic palate you can fill a shortcrust pastry case with puréed squash (or pumpkin) mixed with eggs, cream, sugar and spices to make the classic American pie. You can also add puréed squash, raw grated squash or caramelised squash chunks to a cake mixture, with dried fruit and spices, or to a sponge pudding flavoured with ginger and honey.

I mentioned pumpkin there; the botany and nomenclature are complicated, but ‘squash’ can, for present purposes, be read as shorthand for ‘any well-flavoured winter squash or pumpkin’ - they are interchangeable in virtually all recipes. The only important thing is that the variety was recommended for eating, not carving or breaking national records. What definitely can’t be substituted is a shop-bought ‘Halloween pumpkin’, which has virtually no flesh, absolutely no flavour and can only be improved by the addition of scary eyes and a gap-toothed grin.

Roast spiced squash with red pepper and garlic

Ingredients (to serve two):
300g (10½oz) squash (prepared weight)
1 red pepper
About 12 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp harissa paste (or other chilli paste; adjust the quantity to taste)
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Fresh thyme

1. Peel and de-seed the squash, and cut it into bite-sized chunks. De-seed the pepper, and cut it into chunky pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and crush two of them, leaving the rest whole.
2. Put the squash, pepper and whole garlic cloves on a baking tray. Combine the crushed garlic, olive oil, harissa paste and black pepper and pour the mixture over the vegetables, stirring so that everything is coated.
   
3. Put the tray into the oven at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and beginning to char at the edges. Serve immediately, sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and garnished with thyme.
   

Squash and chestnut soup

Ingredients (to serve two):

280g (10oz) squash (prepared weight)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 stick celery
90g (3oz) well-flavoured apples
175g (6oz) cooked and peeled chestnuts
30g (1oz) butter
500ml (17½fl oz) vegetable stock
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Sour cream

1. Peel and de-seed the squash and chop it into chunks. Peel and chop the onion, peel and crush the garlic, chop the celery, and peel, core and dice the apples. Put half a dozen chestnuts aside and roughly chop the remainder.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and celery, and fry them gently for five minutes.
3. Add the squash, apple, chestnuts, stock, nutmeg and pepper to the pan. Bring the stock to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pan and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Let the soup cool to a safe temperature, then liquidise it. Return it to the pan, add salt to taste and reheat it to serving temperature.
5. Chop the remaining chestnuts into small pieces, and serve the soup with a spoonful of sour cream and a sprinkling of chestnuts.

Warm salad of squash, chickpeas and coriander

Ingredients (to serve two):

300g (10½oz) squash (prepared weight)
2 tsp runny honey
½ tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp olive oil
100g (3½oz) cooked chickpeas
1 clove garlic
60g (2oz) dried apricots
1 tbsp lemon juice
A pinch of salt
A generous grinding of black pepper
Fresh coriander 

1. Peel and de-seed the squash, cut it into vertical sections and cut the sections into slices about ½cm (¼in) thick. Mix the honey and cumin with two tablespoons of the olive oil.
2. Put the squash on a baking tray, coat it with the flavoured oil and roast it at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 10 minutes, or until it is just starting to colour.
3. Add the chickpeas to the tray, mix them around so that they get coated in oil, and return the tray to the oven for a further five minutes.
4. Peel and crush the garlic and cut the apricots into slivers. Combine the remaining tablespoon of olive oil with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
5. Put the squash and chickpeas into a bowl with the apricots.
6. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix everything together, garnish with the coriander and serve immediately.