Chestnut and Pumpkin Seed Croustade Cups with Butternut Squash and Cranberry Jus

Prep time: 1 hour | Cooking time: 1 hour | Serves 4 | Can be vegan*

Ingredients
175g wholemeal sliced bread, made into crumbs
1½tsp mixed dried herbs
30g pumpkin seeds
75g unsalted butter (*or use hard margarine)
700g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
1 very small onion, peeled and finely chopped (about 50g prepared weight)
160g cooked and peeled chestnuts, chopped
2 bay leaves
120ml vegetarian red wine
200g cranberry sauce (fresh home made is best!)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas mark 6. Grease 4 x Yorkshire pudding tins with margarine or butter. Line a baking tin with foil.
2. To make the crust: Put breadcrumbs, mixed dried herbs and the pumpkin seeds into a large bowl. Melt 50g butter (*or hard margarine) and pour onto the breadcrumb mixture. Mix well, then divide equally between the four prepared Yorkshire pudding tins. Using the back of a spoon and your fingers, press evenly into the tins to form shallow cups. Pinch the edges between your fingers and thumb to make them firm – the edges should not be crumbly. Put in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until crisp. Cool in the tins for about 5 minutes, then remove carefully and put on a cooling rack until ready to serve.
3. To make the filling: Melt the remaining 25g butter (or hard margarine) in a small saucepan. Put the prepared butternut squash in a bowl and toss it with half the melted butter and 2 tbs water. Put the butternut squash into the foil-lined baking tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. It should remain moist – if it seems to be drying out, add a very little more water.
4. Meanwhile, make the chestnut paté: sauté the onion in the remaining butter for about five minutes until soft. Add the chestnuts, bay leaf and 4 tbs of the red wine, together with 4 tbs water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and mash the chestnuts to a moist spreading paté. If it is too dry, add a little more water.
5. Put the cranberry sauce in a small saucepan with the remaining red wine. Bring gently to the boil, stirring, then simmer for about 5 – 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced a little but is still runny. To serve: divide the warm chestnut paté between the croustades, pile the butternut squash on top. Drizzle a little of the cranberry jus around the plate, then serve the rest separately.