Halloween Leftovers

This richly spiced combination of squash, tomatoes and pulses is based around a traditional Moroccan recipe, harira. That dish is actually a soup but, whenever I make it, I find myself veering towards such a thick and chunky texture that ‘stew’ seems a more appropriate description. It hardly matters – it’s a delicious, belly-filling, one-pot dish….

A delicious starter or snack, great for dinner parties….

This buttery squash puree is delicious with any kind of fish, including fishcakes or homemade fishfingers, or with sausages (meaty or veggie). A lovely alternative to roasted vegetables or mashed potato….

This twice-baked squash recipe combines tender roasted squash with a creamy leek, hazelnut, and cheese filling. Finished with bubbling cheese on top, it’s a hearty dish perfect for pairing with a crisp green salad….

Slow simmering renders the lamb meltingly tender, while adding a jar of chutney is a great shortcut to creating real depth of flavour. Use a good, spicy, fruity chutney – if it’s home-made, all the better. I have no qualms about using a good-quality ready-made curry powder or masala in a recipe like this, but including some freshly ground cumin and coriander certainly enhances the flavour….

This substantial grainy salad makes a lovely autumn/winter lunch or supper. By all means replace the fennel with chunks of leek, or red onion wedges or halved shallots. Indeed you can improvise a spelt salad along these lines for all seasons, and the first baby veg of summer are a great opportunity to play with this idea….

Crisp, nutty, fried Puy lentils complement tender roasted squash beautifully. You can use sweet potato here in place of squash, and embellish this lovely autumn salad further with some crisp-fried leftover lamb, chicken or ham. In the spring or summer, the crisp lentils and salsa verde go beautifully with some blanched or roasted broccoli….

There are endless versions of veg lasagne and many of them are disappointing. We think this unusual recipe is really special, proper comfort food and just what you need on a chilly autumn night: lots of earthy flavours, plenty of creamy béchamel sauce and a good dose of melting cheese….

We love the crunch of seeds in these delicious breakfast pancakes. Eat them, hot from the pan, with a dollop of marmalade, or a trickle of maple syrup or honey. Add a few strips of crisp-fried bacon for a brunchy treat. If you are avoiding gluten completely, make sure you choose a buckwheat flour that’s labelled gluten-free….