Tom Kitchin recipes: Pumpkin bread

But it’s also a really exciting time in the kitchen, when root vegetables, glorious game and shellfish combine to create a collection of autumnal treasures.

The one food that is most associated with Halloween – after sweets and chocolates, of course – is pumpkin. Every year we buy plenty of big, fresh, colourful pumpkins, then get to work carving them out to make decorative lanterns for both our home and the restaurant. The glowing oranges and golds symbolise autumnal colours so well, and seeing them in people’s windows always looks so cosy and inviting.

Making the lanterns is such a good way to get the children excited about fresh ingredients too, as carving makes the process so much fun and absolutely none of the pumpkin goes to waste. For me, it’s a truly versatile ingredient and a perfect complement in sweet and savoury dishes, from pumpkin soup to pumpkin pie.

When it comes to preparing pumpkin, you can try a variety of techniques and there’s absolutely no need to throw any of the carved flesh away after Halloween. When ripe, the vegetable can be boiled, baked, steamed or roasted. You can chop chunky cubes into risottos, curries, casseroles and stir-fries to give texture and taste, and you can offset the sweetness with fragrant herbs such as sage or thyme, or warming seasonal spices such as ginger, cinnamon, hot chillies and cumin.

Pumpkin makes a gloriously thick soup, and my favourite way of serving it is in the carved-out pumpkin itself, instead of bowls. It’s a great way to get kids to try the healthy soup and makes eating it all the more fun. You can also use the carved-out pumpkin to serve casseroles, rice and risottos, to add to the flavour of the meal.

Pumpkin seeds can be used in a whole host of dishes too. They are so easy to roast or toast and eat on their own as a snack. They are also a great way to add texture to biscuits, cakes, breads and salads. Not only do they taste deliciously crunchy and satisfying, there are also incredibly good for you, rich in protein, iron, zinc and phosphorus.

Equally as tasty, you can use pumpkin to create a deliciously different dessert. Pumpkin desserts are much more popular in the US and Europe than they are here in the UK, but it can give dishes a wonderful balance and can offer a healthier alternative to some decadent dishes. It’s a fairly sweet vegetable so the purée is ideal for adding to cheesecakes, tarts or pies as they balance the sugariness in many desserts and puddings. I love to give the classic crème brûlée a twist by making it with fresh pumpkin; it’s so delicious, warming and seasonal.

Halloween for me is very much a combination of food and family. It’s a wonderful time for kids to relish the most renowned dress-up day of the year. Our two boys, Kasper and Axel, will most definitely be joining in the celebrations. At Halloween, we get together with some friends at our house so the kids can show off their costumes before we go round the neighbours trick-or-treating. We always have a great time putting pumpkins up around the house and dressing the boys up in their costumes.

This year, our eldest, Kasper, wants to be Dracula and he has already picked his little brother Axel’s outfit – a skeleton. Axel’s friend Billie, who is also joining us, will apparently wear a pumpkin outfit, so I’m sure it will just be a joy to watch them all.

Our street makes a great effort on Halloween night. I remember some scary sights from last year, but also some impressive singing at the door and frightening costumes, so I am looking forward to what this year will bring.

When we come back from guising, we usually have a tasty, warming snack like mini pumpkin pies or mini pumpkin breads. They feel like a real treat but the pumpkin means that they’re also hearty and healthy. It’s a great way to get kids to eat their vegetables – even if the house is full of chocolates after all the trick-or-treating.

MINI PUMPKIN PIES

Makes 24 pies

The filling

½ pumpkin

25g butter

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 cloves

150g brown sugar

50g honey

2 eggs

Sweet pastry

500g flour

100g icing sugar

350g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 egg

To make the pastry

Sift the flour and sugar together, then pulse with the butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg and knead gently until the dough clings together.

Flatten to a round, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 4mm, then use a pastry cutter to cut out circles of pastry.

Line a 24-cup baking tray with the pastry, trimming the edges and adding parchment paper and baking beans to each individual case.

Blind-bake in a preheated oven for ten minutes, then remove the paper and beans and cook for another ten to 12 minutes, until golden.

When the pastry is still warm, brush the inside with a beaten egg. This helps to seal the pastry from the filling, ensuring a crispy base.

To make the filling

Peel the pumpkin and cut into small dice.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan and add the butter, spices, honey and then the pumpkin. Cook together for 20 to 25 minutes, until soft.

Place the pumpkin cubes in the blender to make a purée. Add two eggs and blend again.

Then divide the mixture between the pastry cases and cook in the oven for five to six minutes.

Remove the pies from the oven and allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

PUMPKIN BREAD

Makes one loaf

220g flour

2 tsp salt

200g sugar

1 tsp baking soda

240ml pumpkin purée

120ml olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup water

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cinnamon

To make the pumpkin purée

To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie it face-down on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment.

Bake at 180C/gas mark 4 until soft – about 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool and then scoop out the flesh.

Freeze whatever you don’t use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil until tender, then remove and discard the skin.

To make the bread

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking soda.

Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs and water, then combine with the dry ingredients – but do not mix too thoroughly. Pour into a well-buttered 9inx5inx3in loaf pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a thin skewer poked into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Turn it out of the pan and let it cool on a rack.

Tom Kitchin recipes: Pumpkin bread | Mini pumpkin pies