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Halloween Recipes To Try This Week- Part Two!

Zombie Brain (vegetarian)


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Ingredients

  • 1 large celeriac

  • olive oil

  • 6 sprigs of fresh thyme

  • 7 fresh bay leaves

  • 6 cloves of garlic

  • 30 g unsalted butter

  • 200 g pearl barley

  • 1 small onion

  • 800 g mushrooms

  • ¼ of an organic cube of vegetable stock

  • 150 ml single cream

  • 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard

  • extra virgin olive oil


Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

  2. Scrub the celeriac clean. Tear off a double layer of wide tin foil and place the celeriac in the middle, root side up.

  3. Rub with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, sprinkle over the thyme sprigs and 6 bay leaves, then bash 4 whole cloves of garlic and scatter over. Pull the sides of the foil up really tightly around the celeriac and scrunch around its shape, leaving it open at the top.

  4. Place the butter on top of the celeriac so that it melts down and around it as it cooks, then fold the foil over really tightly to seal. Place in an ovenproof dish and roast for around 2 hours, or until tender.

  5. Meanwhile, cook the pearl barley at the appropriate time.

  6. Peel and finely slice the onion and remaining garlic, place in a large frying pan on a low heat with a lug of olive oil, and fry for around 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.

  7. Finely slice the mushrooms and add. Cook for around 20 minutes, or until golden, continuing to stir occasionally.

  8. Crumble in the stock cube, add the remaining bay leaf and pour in 200ml of boiling water. Simmer and reduce until the liquid is nearly gone, then stir in the cream and mustard and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to perfection and keep warm until needed, (don’t get it too thick).

  9. Around 10 minutes before the celeriac is ready, carefully open up the foil and start basting every couple of minutes with the melted butter for extra colour.

  10. Drain the pearl barley and dress it with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Place the celeriac on a board and carve thinly, like you would a joint of meat. Drizzle with any juices from the foil, then serve with the mushroom sauce, pearl barley and add seasonal greens.




Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crumble


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Ingredients


Pastry

  • 150 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

  • 250 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

  • 50 g icing sugar

  • 1 vanilla pod

  • 1 large egg

  • milk

Filling

  • 1 large butternut squash

  • nutmeg

  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

  • 80 g soft brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 50 g unsalted butter

  • 3 large eggs

Crumble Topping

  • 50 g unsalted pecans

  • 30 g unsalted butter

  • 50 g plain flour

  • 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup


Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Lightly grease a deep, 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin.

  2. To make the pastry, chop the butter into cubes and place in a food processor with the flour, icing sugar and a good pinch of sea salt.

  3. Halve the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add to the food processor, then pulse to fine crumbs. Crack in the egg, add a splash of milk, then pulse until it forms a rough dough.

  4. Pat and bring the dough together, then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.

  5. For the filling, deseed the squash, place on a baking tray, then add a little grating of nutmeg. Sprinkle over the ginger and cinnamon, drizzle with the maple syrup, then cover the tray tightly with a double layer of tin foil and bake for 1 hour, or until soft. Leave to cool.

  6. Reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC.

  7. On a clean flour-dusted surface, roll out the pastry until it’s around ½ cm thick, then loosely roll up around the rolling pin and unroll over the tart tin, and push it carefully into the sides.

  8. Trim off any excess pastry, patch up any holes, then prick the base with a fork, cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

  9. When the time’s up, line the pastry case with cling film, then fill with rice, making sure you pack it right out to the sides. Bake blind for 10 minutes, remove the cling film and rice and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until lightly golden, then leave to cool.

  10. Scoop the squash flesh and any bits from the tray into the food processor, add the sugar and maple syrup and whiz until smooth.

  11. Melt the butter and pour into the processor, then crack in the eggs and pulse to combine. Fill the cooled pastry case almost to the top with the mix and bake for 25 minutes.

  12. Meanwhile, make the topping. Place the pecans into the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.

  13. Add the butter, flour, sugar and maple syrup, then pulse.

  14. When the time’s up, remove the tart from the oven, sprinkle over the topping, then bake for a further 20 minutes, or until golden. Leave to cool before slicing.




Pumpkin Deviled Eggs


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Ingredients

  • 12 large eggs

  • ½ cup mayonnaise

  • Juice of ½ lemon

  • 1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard

  • kosher salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 tbsp. paprika

  • 4 chives, cut into small pieces


Steps

  1. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, covered, 1 minute. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 14 minutes, then rinse under cold water.

  2. Crack shells and carefully peel under cool running water.

  3. Halve eggs lengthwise. Spoon out yolks into a small bowl and place whites on a serving platter. Using a fork, mash yolks, then stir in mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Dijon and season with salt and pepper.

  4. Spoon mixture evenly among egg whites and smooth top.

  5. Carefully dust paprika all over the yolk mixture. Use a sharp paring knife to make ridges down the paprika-dusted yolk to look like a pumpkin.

  6. Place chives above egg mixture to look like a stem and serve.




Cheesy Spiders


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Ingredients

  • 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

  • 1 16-oz package shredded cheese

  • Black paste food coloring

  • 1 3.5-oz package round rice crunch crackers (or 24 of any round cracker)

  • 1 cup chow mein noodles


Steps

  1. Mix 2 tablespoons softened cream cheese with food coloring to tint black. Spoon into a resealable bag; set aside.

  2. Beat remaining cream cheese with all but 1 cup of the shredded cheese until blended. Shape mixture into 1 1⁄4-inch balls.

  3. Place remaining shredded cheese in a shallow bowl. Roll balls in cheese to coat. Place one ball on a cracker. Insert 8 chow mein noodles into each ball as legs of the spider. Snip a very small corner from the bag with black cream cheese., then pipe eyes on each spider.




Saucy Spider


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Ingredients

  • 2 balls pizza dough

  • 1 large egg

  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan

  • 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan

  • 1 large pitted black olive

  • 2 cups marinara sauce

Steps

  1. Heat oven to 180°C. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Make the spider: Cut 1 ball of dough in half. Shape one half into a 5-in. ball to make the spider body. Cut a 1 ½ -in. strip from the remaining half and shape into a 2 ½ -in. ball to make the head. Cut the remaining dough into 8 strips and roll each strip into a 6-in. rope to make the legs.

  3. Arrange the body, legs and head on one of the prepared baking sheets to resemble a spider, gently pressing all of the pieces of dough together. Brush the entire spider with some of the egg. Sprinkle the legs with 2 Tbsp Parmesan. Place 2 of the olive slices on the top of the head for eyes and 2 on the bottom for pincers. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes (covering the legs with foil if browning too quickly).

  4. Meanwhile, make the spider leg sticks: Cut the remaining ball of dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ¾ -in.-thick rope. Cut each rope into various lengths. Taper one end of each piece and slightly bend the other to resemble legs. Place on the second baking sheet. Brush with the remaining egg and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

  5. Meanwhile, warm the marinara sauce. Using a knife, hollow out the body of the spider and fill with the warm sauce. Serve with the leg sticks.




Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Icing


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Ingredients

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt

  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger

  • ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 2 ¼ cups packed light-brown sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 ½ cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar


Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a large coupler and a ½ -inch plain round; set aside.

  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream 12 tablespoons butter and the brown sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, ¾ evaporated milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.

  3. Transfer 1 ½ cups batter to a pastry bag. Pipe 1 ½ -inch rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

  4. Put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt remaining 10 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

  5. Immediately add butter to confectioners' sugar, scraping any browned bits from the sides and bottom of the pan. Add remaining 5 tablespoons evaporated milk and remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cookie. If icing stiffens, stir in more evaporated milk, a little at a time.




Bibliography




Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Sugar Frosting. [Photograph]. (2021, September 11). Creme de la Crumb. https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/pumpkin-cookies-brown-sugar-frosting/


Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing. (2004, October). Martha Stewart. https://www.marthastewart.com/318741/pumpkin-cookies-with-brown-butter-icing


Pumpkin Deviled Eggs. [Photograph]. (n.d.). Rose Acre Farms. https://www.goodegg.com/consumers/egg-recipes/pumpkin-deviled-eggs



Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Pie. [Photograph]. (2020, November 2). The Kitchen is My Playground. https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2020/11/pecan-streusel-pumpkin-pie.html







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