Another month and it will be Hallowe’en, which I always find really scary. Not because of the hobgoblins and wicked witches on the roads, but because of the pumpkins. They’re so bland and watery that I wish someone would put a hex on them once and for all.

Ah, but my darling little winter squashes are here to save the day; small, heavy, round, nutty and sweet. There are a dozen varieties of winter squash at my local farmer’s market, including the smooth, lemon-coloured acorn squash, the shapely butternut, chestnut-flavoured kabocha or Hokkaido; dark green Gems and shoulder-padded turban squashes. They all bear witness to the rule that the smaller the pumpkin and the brighter the flesh, the better the flavour.

The best of them all is the onion squash, cut into curved crescents through its glowing saffron orange skin and roasted until lightly caramelised and scorched, ready to serve with pork, lamb, chicken, fish, or a spicy couscous. For this recipe use onion squash, kabocha, butternut, or a dense French pumpkin, and make a coriander pesto spiced up with cumin to give it a Middle-Eastern, chermoula-like flavour. If all you have is the trick-or-treat variety, save it for Hallowe’en.

WHAT YOU NEED

Serves 4

Prep 15min
Cook 45min

2 onion or butternut squash
2tbsp olive oil
4tbsp fresh coriander leaves
2 garlic cloves
2tbsp toasted pine nuts
Sea salt
1tsp cumin seeds
½tsp ground cumin
1tbsp lemon juice
150ml virgin olive oil
Extra coriander leaves
Extra toasted pine nuts

METHOD

Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Scrub the squash but do not peel. Cut each squash into 6 or 8 thick half-moon wedges, coat in olive oil and place “sitting up” on an oiled baking tray. Bake for 40 to 50min until tender and lightly scorched on the tips.Pound the coriander, garlic, toasted pine nuts, sea salt, cumin seeds, cumin, lemon juice and a little of the olive oil in a mortar with a pestle, or in a food processor, until you have a mushy paste, then slowly pour in the remaining olive oil, stirring well. To serve, drizzle the squash with the pesto and scatter with the extra coriander leaves and pine nuts.

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