Chefs Halloween Recipe: Butternut squash velouté with chestnut cream by Chef-Patron Colin McGurran, Winteringham Fields

Few dishes satisfy more than a simple warm velouté. This recipe perfectly mirrors the ethos of Winteringham Fields as it is made using only one major product – homegrown butternut squash. They have the luxury of picking it at the perfect ripeness to be stewed into this great autumn warmer.

About Colin McGurran : Colin took over as chef-patron at Winteringham Fields in Lincolnshire in 2005 – a destination restaurant that is almost fully self-sustaining. Prior, Colin worked at two-Michelin-starred Domaines Haut de Loire in Onzain, France and for Rotana Hotels chain in Abu Dhabi before moving back to the UK in 2001 to open the acclaimed The Woolpack Country Inn in West Yorkshire before purchasing Winteringham Fields. Colin is a popular face on television including Saturday Kitchen, Ramsay’s Best Restaurant and Great British Menu. He has won this and also been a finalist in two series along the way.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

For the butternut velouté

 500g butternut squash

50g unsalted butter

Salt

1g truffle oil

For the chestnut cream

200ml double cream

60g cooked chestnuts

½ tsp salt

For the pumpkin seeds

200g dried pumpkin seeds

50g sugar

For the butternut pieces

1 butternut squash

Salt and pepper, to season

Butter

Oil

Method

For the butternut velouté

1. Peel the butternut squash and slice thinly.
2. Put all ingredients in a pan and cling film to steam until soft.
3. Blitz in a blender for 2 minutes, then pass through a chinois.

To make the chestnut cream

1. Whisk the cream until softly whipped.
2. Grate in the cooked chestnuts so very finely grated with the salt.
3. Continue to whisk until the mixture firms up and everything is fully combined, making sure you don’t over whip.

For the pumpkin seeds

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan.
2. Remove the seeds, add sugar and then slowly melt in the pan.
3. As the sugar starts to caramelise, add the pumpkin seeds back in until they are all nicely covered.
4. Lay out across parchment paper to cool down, and then split up.

For the grilled butternut pieces

1. Peel the butternut squash and slice to 1cm thick, square off each piece and cut 1cm strips one way, then 1cm the other way.
2. Season the pieces and cook under a grill with oil until they start to char.
3. Add a pinch of butter, then turn over and repeat on the other side until nicely cooked.

Alternatively, why not visit Winteringham Fields with the Luxury Restaurant Club and enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne when dining for lunch from Wednesday to Saturday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

3-course à la carte: £45pp

6-course surprise: £60pp

8-course surprise: £85pp

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