Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

My first attempt at this festive classic.
Ingredients
400g Pumpkin Flesh (from 2x medium Pumpkins, seeds removed)
275ml Double Cream
1x 9in Shortcrust Pastry Case
75g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
1x tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
2x Large Eggs, plus 1x Yoke
Method
Steam the Pumpkin flesh and sieve out excess water. 
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. 
Using a pestle and mortar, grind the spices. 
Simmer the cream, sugar and spices in a milk pan, then pour over the eggs. Add the Pumpkin flesh and mix well.
Pour the mixture into the pastry case and cook at 180c for 35-40mins

Toffee Apples

I'd always wanted to make these, even though I don't know anyone who likes them! In the spirit of Halloween, these are dead easy.
Ingredients

Toffee Apples

250g Demerara Sugar
110ml Water
1/2 tsp Malt Vinegar
2x tsp Golden Syrup
Method
Scrub the apples using boiling water, then remove the stalks; dry well, then push wooden skewers in to the stalk end.
Heat the water and sugar until dissolved, then add the vinegar and syrup.
Boil the mixture until thick and syrupy, then dip each apple in, turning to fully coat, letting any excess toffee run off before placing the apple on some baking parchment to set.
Take care not to burn the toffee, as you can see in the image, the darker apples were dipped last when the toffee had started to burn.

Bobotie from South Africa

Bobotie pronounced [bɒˈboʊti]

Babotie

As a lover of Cottage and Shepherd's Pie, this instantly caught my eye. There's no mash involved but instead, custard!
I've omitted from my version some of the original ingredients; almonds, apricots, sultanas/raisins and chutney, as I found the dish quite sweet enough without these.
Ingredients:
400g Lean Ground Beef Mince
400g Lean Ground Lamb Mince
2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
2 Large Diced Onions
2 Allspice Berries
2 tbsp Malt Vinegar
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Splash of Light Soy Sauce
2 Slices of White Bread
1 Cup of Full Fat Milk
1 tbsp Madras-style Curry Powder
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Sea Salt
A liberal grinding of freshly grated Black Pepper
3 Eggs
4 Bay Leaves
Method: Pan fry the oil and onions until softened and transparent. Add the ground meat and continue cooking until the meat starts to brown.

While the meat is cooking, soak the bread in the milk. Once the meat is nicely browned, squeeze most of the milk from the bread and crumble it into the frying pan. Reserve the milk for the custard topping.
Now add the Soy Sauce and Malt and Balsamic Vinegars to the pan. Using a large pestle and mortar grind all of the remaining ingredients (except the Eggs and Bay Leaves) and add to the pan. Stir through for a minute and then remove from heat. Transfer to a greased baking dish large enough so that the mixture sits about one to one and a half inches thick. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon so that it is flat and without gaps. Whisk three eggs in a bowl with the milk and then pour over the meat mixture. Top with bay leaves and bake at 180°C for about an hour until the top of the Bobotie is golden brown.  Serve with some potato-based products and vegetables

Cost: Most of the ingredients come from the store cupboard, with the only real outlay being for the mince - the above recipe serves four at a cost of about £2.50 per person, including accompaniments.