Cook Up A Bonfire Night Banger With Burpee – Let your Guy Fawkes Night go with a tongue-tingling bang this year by cooking up a storm of handy mitten-fitting nibbles, which can be balanced in one hand whilst you wave your sparkler in the other!
This November 5th we need comfort food more than ever! So whether you are treating yourself to a local fireworks display or having your own little fire in your back garden (remembering to contain it and not light it directly on your lawn!) these recipes will offer something warm and tasty when you get in from the cold.
But first, let’s discuss the main ingredients…Courgette ‘Sure Thing’ and Winter Squash ‘Early Acorn’.
Courgette ‘Sure Thing’
This really is a ‘Sure Thing’ because the parthenocarpic plants bear fruit early in cool, cloudy conditions even when there are no bees or male flowers around. Its medium-sized fruits are long and very tasty!
Squash ‘Early Acorn’
Early and space-saving! Bush-type hybrid can be planted 0.9 m apart. These productive plants bear five large, dark-green fruits. Orange-yellow flesh is sweet, nutty and has a smooth texture.
The recipes below have been devised for Burpee Europe by chef Valerie Hamelin, using our varieties.
Winter Squash & Stilton Pie in Filo Pastry
Ingredients
1 Winter Squash – Early Acorn Hybrid (depends on the size)
Olive oil
Sprig thyme
1 small bag of spinach leaves
1 onion – diced
2 garlic cloves- chopped
1 small packet of smoked lardons
1 packet filo pastry
Butter – Melted for each layer of filo
1 small pot low fat crème Fraiche
50 gr Stilton cheese
Salt & pepper
Method
Cut the squash in half and season with olive oil, salt and pepper & thyme. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes at 180 C or until the flesh feels cooked and soft.
Whilst the squash is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan and sweat off the diced onions and garlic, add the spinach and cook until wilted, drain and set aside and cool down.
In a hot frying pan, place the lardons and cook until golden brown and crispy, drain on a kitchen roll to remove excess fat.
Spoon out the flesh of the squash, separate some crushed down and some into pieces.
Place the cooled spinach into a bowl, add the crème Fraiche, the crushed squash & salt and pepper, and mix well. Set aside
Crumb the stilton
Cut the filo pastry into large strips and cut into 10 cm x 10 cm square
To assemble the pie, use a 7cm muffin tin tray. Place 3 buttered filo pastry squares on top of each other. Place the 1st one on a work top then add the 2nd one to the opposite quarter and the 3rd square on top like the 1st one.
Then press down the filo pastry into the moulds and add the spinach mix on the bottom and top with the squash pieces and the crumb stilton.
Bake in the oven at 190C for 20 minutes or until the filo is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Courgette, Feta and Red Pepper Muffins
Ingredients
225g Courgette ‘Sure Thing’ grated
1tbsp Fresh basil chopped
½tbsp Dry oregano
50g Sweet red pepper ‘Popti’ diced
1tbsp Garlic – pureed or crushed
1tsp Smoked paprika
2tsp Baking powder
200g Plain flour
100ml Milk
100g Feta cheese – crumbed, alternatively use goats cheese
100ml Rapeseed oil
3 Eggs
2tbsp Parmesan cheese – grated
½ tsp Salt and pepper for seasoning
Method
Place the grated courgette into a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt, this will help remove any excess liquid – Leave to drain for 20 minutes whilst preparing the rest of the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Roast the diced peppers with the garlic for 8 minutes at 180C or until tender.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and smoked paprika into a large bowl then lightly whisk the eggs, milk and oil in a jug then pour onto dry ingredients and fold through. Add the crumbled feta, red peppers, and basil and mix lightly. Next, add the drained grated courgette and mix.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin or mini loaf tin and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tins for at least 10 minutes before turning on a wire rack
Poppy Watt