Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 *Can be vegan
No Christmas is complete without the scrumptious smell of chestnuts cooking. Add the sweet aroma of cranberries and you are certainly in for a festive feast for the senses. Other key ingredients include butternut squash which is an excellent source of vitamin A, and pumpkin seeds which are great for adding Zinc to the diet.
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© Recipes developed by Sarah Kearns and Marise Maddison on behalf of The Vegetarian Society
Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas mark 6. Grease 4 x Yorkshire pudding tins with margarine or butter. Line a baking tin with foil.
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.
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.
Meanwhile, make the chestnut paté: sauté the onion in the remaining butter for about five minutes until soft. Add the chestnuts and bay leaf 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.
Put the cranberry sauce in a small saucepan. 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.
