Now is the autumn of our mellow fruitfulness. To misquote one dead poet may be regarded as a misfortune but to misquote two looks like carelessness – oh and there’s another! So with a nod to Shakespeare, Keats and Wilde and without further ado about nothing let’s get cooking!
Toffee Apples are a must for Halloween and Bonfire Night but can equally be enjoyed in any Maidstone home at any time! To make 15 which will be ready in 40 minutes -10 minutes preparation and 30 minutes cooking - you will need:
Toffee Apple recipe
15 apples
400g caster sugar
350g golden syrup
350ml water
8 drops of red food colouring (optional)
Lollipop sticks
1. Lightly grease a few baking trays. Push a lollipop stick into each whole apple.
2. Over a medium-high heat, in a medium sized saucepan combine the sugar, golden syrup and water. Heat to about 150ᵒC or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads. Remove from heat and stir in food colouring if using.
3. Now holding each apple by its stick dip into the syrup before removing and then turning to ensure that the apple is evenly coated. Place on the prepared trays and leave to harden.
Butternut Squash Soup is a really delicious winter warmer and not hard to make either! Lovely on a cold winter’s night at home or in a mug watching the kids play outside at Halloween or Bonfire Night.
Preparation time is 1 hour 15 minutes and for 4 good servings you will need:
Butternut Squash soup recipe
2 medium butternut squash
2 medium onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of thyme
1 litre of chicken stock
Salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil
1. Preheat the oven to 180ᵒC/Gas Mark 4.
2. Peel and deseed the squash then roughly chop into large chunks. Chop the onion an crush the garlic.
3. Pour a small amount of oil into a roasting tin and add the squash, onions, garlic and thyme.
4. Roast in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until all the ingredients are a caramelised colour – don’t burn them!
5. Warm the stock and then put all the roasted vegetables into a blender with a couple of spoonfuls of stock and blend.
6. Add as much or as little stock as you like to get your preferred soup consistency.
7. Season with salt and pepper and the soup is now ready to serve with some crusty bread.
Quinces are in plentiful supply where we live, just outside Maidstone, but what do to with them? Help is at hand though with this Turkish style roast quince dessert recipe which should be served straight from the oven with ice cream, cream or marscapone. It takes just 5 minutes to prepare and 2 hours to cook.
For six helpings you will need:
3 large quinces (about 1.5 kg)
80g butter
6 tablespoons sugar
Marscapone, cream or ice cream to serve
1. Preheat oven to 190ᵒC/Gas Mark 5. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and wash the quinces by gently scrubbing them. Lay them on the baking tray and roast in the oven for 1-2 hours until soft – the cooking time depends on the size and firmness of the quinces so keep checking!
2. Once cool enough to touch, cut the quinces open and remove the cores and seeds with a sharp knife. Return the quinces to the baking tray – cut side up – add a piece of butter to each half and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar.
3. Put the quinces back in the oven for a further 30-60 minutes and roast until they are very soft and turned a reddish colour. Towards the end you can put the quinces under the grill to enable the sugar to crystallise a bit.
Pumpkins are everywhere around Maidstone too and what better way to cook them than in a Pumpkin Pie! This takes 25 minutes to prepare and 1 hour 20 minutes to cook.
For a pie that serves 8 you will need:
pumpkin pie recipe
1 medium sugar pumpkin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 recipe pastry for a 23cm single crust pie
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs lightly beaten
350g slightly warmed honey
125ml milk
125ml whipping cream
1. Preheat oven to 170ᵒC/Gas Mark 3.
2. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Lightly oil the cut surface and place it cut side down on a baking sheet lined with foil and lightly oiled.
3. Bake in the oven until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm then scrape the flesh from the peel. Now either mash or puree in small batches in a blender.
4. In a large bowl blend together 500g of the pumpkin puree, spices and salt. Beat in the eggs, honey, milk and cream and pour filling into a prepared pastry case.
5. Bake at 200ᵒC/Gas Mark 6 for 50-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted 3cm from the edge of the pie comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
6. Serve barely warm with freshly whipped cream on the top of each serving.
So there you have it, some delicious autumn recipes all of which can be found at http://www.allrecipes.co.uk along with a wealth of other mouth-wateringly tempting ideas for this season of mellow fruitfulness!
Happy cooking!
Until next time
India J