Roast Butternut Squash, Chestnut and Wild Mushroom Fusilli
By: Helen Pitlick
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 4:19pm

Ingredients




1 medium to large butternut squash
4 tablespoons olive oil
350 grams fresh chestnuts or 200 ready-prepared chestnuts
30 grams dried chantarelles or other dried mushrooms
250 teaspoons ml warm vegetable stock made with 1  vegetable bouillon 
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
25 grams butter
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
teaspoon ½  smoked pimenton or mild paprika
2 teaspoons Madeira, sweet sherry or tawny port
325 grams fusilli
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

fresh Parmesan cheese for serving

Preparation

1 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Quarter the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Cut each quarter into 3 or 4 pieces and cut away the skin with a sharp knife. Put the squash in the roasting pan, pour over 2 tbs of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Roast for about 30 minutes until the squash is well-colored, shaking the pan occasionally. 2 Cut a cross in the rounded side of each chestnut with a sharp knife, then lay them out cut-side upwards in a baking tin. Roast at the same temperature as the squash for about 15-20 minutes until they split open, then turn off the oven but leave them in the pan. Take two or three at a time, let them cool a little until you can handle them, then peel off the shell and outer layer of brown papery skin. If they become difficult to peel, simply heat them up again. 3 Soak the mushrooms in the warm vegetable stock, then drain and sieve the stock to remove any grit. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan or wok and fry the onion over a moderate heat until beginning to brown at the edges. Turn the heat down, add the butter, then once it has melted, add the crushed garlic and paprika. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for a few minutes, then add the Madeira and the reserved vegetable stock. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes while you put on the pasta to cook, following the timing on the package, until al dente. 4 Roughly chop up the peeled chestnuts, add them to the mushroom mixture and continue to cook over a low heat. Cut up the roasted squash into slightly smaller cubes and add them to the pan, along with any roasting juices. 5 Drain the pasta well, reserving some of the cooking water, then tip the pasta into the sauce and toss together thoroughly. Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water, and check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. 6 Serve in warm bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

About


From "An Appetite for Ale" by Fiona and Will Beckett.