Serves 4
*Can be vegan
Preparation
time: With fresh chestnuts: 1½ hrs
With canned chestnuts: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
175g wholemeal sliced bread, made into crumbs
1½ tsp mixed dried herbs
30g pumpkin seeds
75g unsalted butter (*or use hard margarine)
700g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
1 very small onion, peeled and finely chopped (about 50g prepared weight)
160g cooked and peeled chestnuts, chopped
2 bay leaves
120ml vegetarian red wine
200g cranberry sauce (fresh home made is best!)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas mark 6. Grease 4 x Yorkshire pudding
tins with margarine or butter. Line a baking tin with foil.
2.
To make the crust: Put breadcrumbs, mixed dried herbs and the pumpkin
seeds into a large
bowl.
Melt 50g butter (*or hard margarine) and pour
onto the breadcrumb mixture. Mix well, then divide equally between the
four prepared Yorkshire pudding tins. Using the back of a spoon and your
fingers, press evenly into the tins to form shallow cups. Pinch the edges
between your fingers and thumb to make them firm – the edges should
not be crumbly. Put in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until crisp.
Cool in the tins for about 5 minutes, then remove carefully and put on
a cooling rack until ready to serve.
3.
To make the filling: Melt the remaining 25g butter (or hard margarine)
in a small saucepan.
Put
the prepared butternut squash in a bowl and
toss it with half the melted butter and 2 tbs water. Put the butternut
squash into the foil-lined baking tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until soft. It should remain moist – if
it seems to be drying out, add a very little more water.
4.
Meanwhile, make the chestnut paté: sauté the onion
in the remaining butter for about five minutes until soft. Add the chestnuts,
bay leaf and 4 tbs of the red wine, together with 4 tbs water. Bring
to the boil then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove
the bay leaf and mash the chestnuts to a moist spreading paté.
If it is too dry, add a little more water.
5.
Put the cranberry sauce in a small saucepan with the remaining red
wine. Bring gently
to the
boil, stirring, then simmer for about 5 – 10
minutes until the sauce has reduced a little but is still runny. To serve:
divide the warm chestnut paté between the croustades, pile the
butternut squash on top. Drizzle a little of the cranberry jus around
the plate, then serve the rest separately.
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