Pumpkin

There will be hot “sausage” rolls filled not with pork but with spiced pumpkin and a dish of baked apples with maple syrup sauce. I will pass round a basket of ...

Bring to the boil and let it bubble for a minute, then spoon over the baked apples. Melt the butter in a small pan, then remove from the heat and spoon over the apples. The occasional baste with the buttery juices in the baking dish is a thoroughly good thing. I use a variety of apples here from the irresistible selection in the shops at this time of year. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and puffed. Brush the pastry edge with beaten egg, then roll up tightly into a long sausage, sealing the pastry edges together with more of the egg. Spoon half the squash in a line along the edge of the pastry facing you, about 2cm from the edge. If it isn’t then drain in it further over a bowl in the fridge. Cut the squash or pumpkin into 5cm pieces and steam for about 25-30 minutes until tender to the point of a knife. The important detail here is to use a firm-fleshed pumpkin or squash, so it keeps its shape inside the pastry. We will no doubt coo over the rockets and Roman candles, but everything I really look forward to about Halloween and Guy Fawkes comes on a plate. A pumpkin, its heart hollowed out for soup, a jagged smile carved into its shell, will hold a light on the garden steps, but that is as far as I go.