This week
after spending a lovely few days in the UK meeting up with much missed friends
I returned home and to work with no opportunity to do the weekly shop; so with
a fridge somewhat depleted I was a little stuck when it came to finding a
suitable offering for our weekly Supper and Scrabble night. A reccy of the
fridge, freezer and store cupboard resulted in the invention of a new pie which I think I will be making again and again this winter. The butternut squash and subtle spices made it a thick, creamy and warming dish, topped with
crisp pastry for texture and extra comfort! Served with fresh veggies and potatoes it was just
perfect for cold evening by the fire, a nice glass or two of red and a game of
Scrabble (which I won… even better!).
On this occasion
I served it with steamed leeks and carrots which were fine but what I thought
about when eating was how well a pile of dark green leafy veg would go with it.
Next time I’m going to opt for buttered savoy cabbage, steamed chard or purple
sprouting broccoli… yum.
I know size isn’t
everything… but the butternut squashes we grew this year were very disappointing… not sure why, but one seen here compared to the giant pumpkin my friend gave me from her garden you get
the picture! Still the three dinky little squashes we got were delicious and they worked really well in this pie.
Favourite
wine of the moment is another reasonably priced local offering from the Bearn
region called Qu’aïmary from the Cave De Gan. We’re drinking the 2008 vintage,
winner of the Paris Médaille D’Argent 2010. Really lovely and just €3.50 a
bottle from Carrefour.
Turkey and Spiced Butternut Squash Pie
(Serves 4)
 |
| Beautiful autunm colours in the garden this week. |
4 Turkey
Breast Steaks (or 2 large chicken breasts) cut into cubes
1 Red Onion
- thickly sliced
Olive Oil
(approx. 1 tbsp.)
1 Clove
Garlic - finely chopped
½ Butternut Squash (or in my case this year 1.5 baby butternuts!) peeled and cut
into cubes
100g
mushrooms roughly chopped
1 heaped
tbsp. flour
1 tsp.
ground mixed spice
2 tsp.
smoked paprika
1 litre
chicken stock
100ml Sour
cream (half a medium size tub)
Salt &
pepper
2 tsp. fresh
thyme leaves
Flaky or
puff pastry
- Heat olive oil in large pan and gently cook onion and garlic till softened.
- Season the turkey and add to the pan and fry for a few minutes on each side till lightly browned.
- Add cubes of butternut squash to the pan and fry for a further minute or so.
- Put the flour, spice and paprika to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the stock and mushrooms. Bring everything to a gentle simmer, cover and leave to simmer for 25 minutes until squash is tender.
- Remove lid and bring to the boil to reduce the liquid by about a third.
- When the liquid is reduced and thickened add sour cream, thyme and season to taste. Bring back to the boil to heat the sour cream through and stir thoroughly.
- Heat oven to 180⁰C.
- Transfer the turkey mixture to a large pie dish, top with pastry and brush with egg.
- Cook in preheated oven for 25 minutes till the pastry is brown and crisp.
Today I'm boiling up quinces from the garden to make
quince jelly, so the house is full of that lovely fragrant slightly
appley scent... but more on that next time...x
