Warming recipes from Donal Skehan for cosy days in the kitchen (2024)

This is our first Irish autumn in five years, and we have been looking forward to the seasonal change that brings with it the fine excuse to stay indoors, get cosy and cook comfort food. My wife Sofie is the queen of all things hygge. We haven't been able to travel to Sweden this year, so she's making up for it by prepping our house for the colder days. She's been stocking up on firewood and filling our home with enough candles to light a small village. I play my part, too. The kitchen is bursting with spices for stews, stocks for soups and plenty of baking bits for some cosy cooking days.

This week's recipes are ideal for kick-starting the season and banishing any lockdown blues. First up, a soup that is more than just a soup - a vibrant orange elixir I come back to every year. It's an incredibly simple combination that also works with butternut squash and sweet potato.

Speaking of gourds, one of the easiest ways to cook pumpkins and squash is to roast them with aromatics. I recently roasted them sliced with their skins on. They are edible and add a nice texture. These roasted slices are delicious doused in nutty-brown butter infused with sage and form the core of a simple supper that uses freshly-cooked, store-bought tortellini. Toss in toasted hazelnuts to finish them and if you really want to push the boat out, crumble some blue cheese on top.

For a sweet treat, my dark chocolate, hazelnut and sea salt cookies are easy to make and particularly delicious if you use good quality chocolate (Irish brand Bean & Goose is wonderful). All perfect autumn inspiration to help embrace a new season of cooking.

Roast Pumpkin, Chilli & Coconut Soup

Cooking Time: 60 mins

Serves: 6

If you haven't cooked with pumpkin before, this is a wonderful way to start. Choose small pumpkins as they're easier to tackle in the kitchen. If you can't find pumpkins, butternut squash is an ideal substitute. The addition of coconut milk adds a wonderfully creamy and exotic flavour, but if you don't want to use it, you could just make up the difference with vegetable stock.

Ingredients

1kg pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and chopped into rough chunks

1 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

A few sprigs of thyme

2 red onions, roughly chopped

2 tsp red chilli flakes

1 x 400g tin coconut milk

½ litre vegetable stock

Sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/450F/Gas Mark 8. To prepare the pumpkin, scrape out the seeds, clean them in a colander with cold water and then dry in a tea towel. Pop the seeds in a roasting tray tossed with the butter and roast in the oven until toasted (around 10 minutes). Remove and set aside.

2. Tumble the pumpkin chunks into a roasting tin with the thyme and toss in some of the rapeseed oil. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and pop in the oven to roast for 45 minutes or until the edges are slightly charred and tender when pierced with a fork.

3. In a large pot, heat a drop of rapeseed oil and fry the red onions until they are soft. Stir through the chilli flakes and fry for a further minute. Discard the thyme and add the roast pumpkin to the pot, along with the coconut milk and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Using a hand blender, whizz the soup until you have a velvety smooth consistency. You may need to add more stock or boiling water to get the right consistency. Add sea salt and ground black pepper. Serve the soup in warm bowls with a sprinkle of chilli flakes and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Tortellini with Brown Butter, Sage, Hazelnuts & Roast Squash

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes: 10

The perfect autumn cookie that is ideal for a quiet moment with coffee. Don't skimp on the salt, it's integral to balancing the sweetness of the cookie.

Ingredients

175g butter

150g granulated sugar

100g light brown sugar

425g plain flour

1 tsp + 1 tbsp sea salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bread soda

2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten

100g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Method

1. Beat the butter with the two types of sugar in a free-standing mixer on a high speed until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes.

2. Stir the flour, salt, baking powder, bread soda together in a medium-sized bowl. Add a little flour mix to the butter mixture, slowly incorporate the eggs. Reduce the speed to low and add the rest of the flour mixture along with the hazelnuts and chocolate.

3. Divide the mixture in 10 and roll into balls, arranging on a tray lined with parchment paper as you go. Freeze for at least four hours or until hard.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 .

5. Line another tray with parchment paper and add half the dough balls to this. Making sure they've enough space to expand between each cookie. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until risen and golden. You may need to rotate or turn the trays halfway, depending on your oven.

6. Leave to cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes before moving.

Dark Chocolate, Toasted Hazelnut & Sea Salt Cookies

Cook time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

Unashamed, instant cold-weather comfort food by way of the store-bought tortellini. The classic combination of nutty butter, crisp sage leaves and sweet and caramelised butternut squash will brighten even the darkest of autumn days.

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

3-4 thyme sprigs

500g spinach and ricotta tortellini

100g butter

75g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

2 sage sprigs

Sea salt & black pepper

Best-quality extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 .

2.Place the pumpkin slices on a large baking sheet with the thyme and olive oil. Season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper. Place in the oven to roast for 40 minutes or until tender and caramelised on the edges. Once cooked, keep warm.

3. Towards the end of the cooking time for the pumpkin, bring a large pot of water to the boil and generously season with salt. Once boiling, add the tortellini and cook until al dente. Drain and reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water for use in the sauce.

4. While the pasta cooks, place a large heavy-based frying pan over a low to medium heat and add the butter. Add the chopped hazelnuts, tossing to evenly toast in the warm butter. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the hazelnuts have toasted. Stir through the sage and allow to toast in the golden butter mix.

5. Toss the roasted pumpkin slices in with the tortellini.

6. Serve the tortellinis hot to warmed plates and add a generous drizzle of the best-quality extra virgin olive oil you have to hand, plus a last seasoning of salt and pepper.

Bite-size

Boyne Valley Ban

We recently visited our friends Jeni Glasgow & Reuven Diaz, formerly of Drogheda's Eastern Seaboard restaurant, who are popping up at the Rock Farm in Slane's weekly food market now, and at the Sea Hare in Cleggan later this month. We devoured a wedge of Michael Finnegan's Boyne Valley Ban goat's cheese. A mild but creamy, crumbly slice, it's a good addition to any cheese board.

First Steps

The last couple of months, in fact this entire year, has been a whirlwind and somewhere in the midst of the madness, our youngest, Oliver, is well on his way to taking his first steps. Though not quite there yet, practice makes perfect!

Minetta Deli

Sisters Deboragh and Nicola Hughes, who have been serving Sutton with show-stopper sambos, deli goods, homemade ready meals and pizzas, recently five years in business. Don't miss the devilled Howth crab sandwich and keep an eye on their Instagram (@minetta.deli) for specials like 'Peter's Pain' granary loaves from their brother Peter!