Classic macaroni, the ultimate comfort food, but with a delicious nutty, creamy, butternut twist. This is a great sneaky way to get extra veg into kids, and into ‘less keen on veg’ adults too of course! Butternut squashes have become a bit of a staple so we always try to keep them in stock, and it’s no wonder. They are full of flavour and nutrients, most notably vitamins A, C, magnesium and potassium (one portion of butternut provides over 450% of your RDI for vitamin A and over 50% of the RDI for vitamin C). You can of course substitute the roasted butternut in this recipe with any roasted winter squash or even sweet potato. Enjoy!
Liz x
Butternut Sauce Ingredients
500g peeled and chopped butternut squash
150g nuts/seeds, soaked in water to soften (cashews, sunflower seeds, blanched almonds…these work really well but any nut or seed you prefer will work fine too)
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 clove of garlic, peeled
salt and pepper to taste
a drizzle of olive oil for roasting the squash
Method
Turn your oven on to 200C. Get your nuts or seeds into a bowl and cover with water. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Get it into a roasting dish and roast until soft.
When the squash is soft, let it cool a little. Meanwhile drain the nuts/seeds and then blend all the ingredients together. Add a splash of water, enough to get the sauce into a smooth, creamy consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper as you like.
Now the sauce is ready to heat and stir through freshly cooked pasta. It will keep well in the fridge for 3 days or can be frozen in portions to last much longer.
Here are some fiendishly fun and easy ideas for your Halloween table. There is a 100% guarantee that there will be a LOT of sweets being guzzled at the weekend, so this table is a fun way to balance out all that sugar. Delight and disgust your guests with this grisly spread of ‘finger food’. See what I did there?
Liz x
Freaky Fruit
Use sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nut butter and celery sticks to make some freaky fruit platters. We stock a wide variety of organic fruit all year round and have organic seeds in compostable bags to add to your order here.
This is so fun to make with the kids: – Peel clementines and poke little slivers of celery through the centre to make ‘pumpkins’. – Use pumpkin seeds to make the faces on banana ghosts. – Make apple monsters. Cut apples into quarters and remove the core. Then carefully cut a wedge out for the mouth. Fill with nut or seed butter, sunflower or pumpkin seed teeth and eyes and return a bit of the apple for the tongues. To stop the apples turning brown, rub the cut sides with a wedge of lemon. – The kiwi Frankenstein’s monsters are so cute. Carefully peel off the bottom 2/3rds of the kiwi leaving a head of ‘hair’. Poke thin celery sticks into the sides for bolts and use pumpkin seeds to make the face.
Green Skeleton Man
Use fresh green veggies and guacamole to make this spooky skeleton snack platter. Our organic celery crop is huge this year. Get them discounted while they’re in season now here.
Finger Rolls
Veggie sausages cut with nails and knuckle marks with ketchup in a roll? Finger lickin’ fun! We have a few different veggie sausages to choose from here and a really nice organic ketchup in a glass bottle.
Pumpkin Puke (Hummus)
Is it even a party if there is no hummus? Whip up this simple pumpkin version to go with your obligatory Jack’O Lantern. It’s delicious scooped up with the green man skeleton or tortilla crisps! We have organic chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and more in the grocery section of the shop.
Ingredients
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained (reserve the aquafaba for another recipe)
250g roasted pumpkin (use a kuri or butternut squash for extra flavour, or use up the flesh from a carved pumpkin)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
3 tbsp tahini
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp ground cumin (optional)
1 heaped tsp of salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 ice cubes
Method
Place all the ingredients except the olive oil and ice cubes into a food processor and blend until pretty smooth.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or lemon juice.
Then add the ice cubes and olive oil and blend again until silky smooth. The ice cubes are a secret ingredient which really helps lighten and whip the hummus into a gorgeous texture.
Keep the hummus in a container in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It should last for 3 days maximum.
Pizza Fingers
Pizza dough stuffed with cheese and tomato purée, baked with an almond and dipped in a simple tomato sauce? This is perfect finger food if you can get past the squeamish feeling that you are eating trolls toes! We stock tomato purée, flour, yeast, cheeses, almonds and more in our grocery section.
Here’s how to make 16 pizza fingers:
Dough
500g spelt flour
7g quick yeast
10g salt
2 tbsp olive oil
325ml warm water
Filling
16 sticks of cheese
tomato puree
16 almonds
Mix the ingredients above into a sticky dough then knead on a clean work surface until smooth. You may need to add an extra dusting of flour if your dough is too sticky to handle.
Form into a ball and cover with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size – depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this should take around 1 hour.
Divide into 16 even balls. Turn the oven on to 200C. Find a large baking tray and line it with baking parchment.
Stretch each ball of dough into a rectangle. Smear a 1/4 tsp of tomato purée along the middle then add a cheese stick. Fold the dough around the cheese and pinch to seal. Roll the parcel into a finger and pop it seal-side-down onto a lined baking tray. Repeat with all the balls of dough.
Then dip the almonds into tomato purée and stick them on the ends of the doughy fingers. Use a butter knife to make knuckle marks.
Then pop the tray into the hot oven for 20 minutes or until the fingers are golden brown and cooked through. Serve with a simple tomato dipping sauce (recipe below).
Sauce
1 onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
3 tbsp olive oil
Italian style herbs (I use a bay leaf, a few fennel seeds and a pinch of dried oregano)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onion in the oil until soft and starting to take on some colour. Add the garlic and herbs and stir until very fragrant. Then add the tin of tomatoes and season well. Simmer until the sauce is rich and delicious. At least 10 minutes but the longer the better. Alternatively use pesto as the dipping sauce or a jar of ready made pasta or pizza sauce. We stock a few option in the shop which can be added to your veg order.
Trick AND Treat Brownies
Didn’t get to go trick or treating this year? Here’s a spooky brownie recipe that is both a treat AND a trick!
Well, it is that time of year when you can legitimately have some fun with your food. As well as putting pumpkin in everything, let’s make our food a little spooky too! This pumpkin pasta sauce is a doddle, just bake it in the oven while you get on with something more important – making an elaborate Halloween costume perhaps? Then either serve the pasta and sauce as they are, or if you want to go the extra mile, bake some meatballs (my plant based recipe is below) and top with sliced cheese and olives to make them into eyeballs.
I’ll be sharing some other Halloween food inspo soon, but I would love to know your Halloween classics. Let me know in the comments.
Liz x
Pumpkin Pasta Ingredients (serves 4-6 people)
1/2 a kuri squash pumpkin (or butternut), gutted and diced
6 cloves of garlic to ward off the vampires, peeled
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Olive oil, salt & pepper to taste
500g dried pasta
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Find a deep baking dish.
Tumble the diced pumpkin/squash and peeled garlic cloves into the dish.
Drizzle generously with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands then bake for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Remove the dish from the oven, mash the vegetables with a fork then tip in the two tins of chopped tomatoes. Season again with some extra salt and pepper to taste.
Stir well then return the dish to the oven for another 20 minutes or so until hot and bubbling. Meanwhile cook your pasta in boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
Drain the pasta and stir it through the hot sauce. Enjoy as it is or with meatballs, cheese slices and olives (see below for my vegan meatball recipe).
Vegan Meatballs Ingredients (makes approx 40 small balls)
50g nuts (walnuts are brilliant here but any fatty nut will do)
50g pumpkin or sunflower seeds
150g porridge oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 onion & 4 cloves of garlic, diced and fried in a little olive oil until soft
2 tins of cooked lentils, drained
4 tbsp olive oil
a handful of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Method
You will need a food processor with an S blade attachment. Pulse the nuts and seeds first until they resemble course flour.
The add the remaining ingredients and pulse together, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally, until you have a thick, rustic paste. Don’t over-blend, it’s nice to retain a bit of texture.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt, pepper or herbs.
Then form the balls by squishing a small amount of the mixture together using your cupped palm and fingers. Gently roll between your palms into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
Toss with a little vegetable oil and bake until hot. Around 20 minutes at 200C is sufficient, these veggie meatballs can get a little drier than their meaty counterparts so be careful not to overcook. Turn the meatballs halfway through cooking. Serve in pasta sauce or with mash and gravy.
