Hugo Arnold comes up with two seasonal mid-week suppers
The minced beef was seasoned and combined with an egg to produce four hamburgers in three minutes; the two pieces of cod were oiled and seasoned and in the pan in less time that it took to open and pour a glass of Riesling; and my sautéed wild mushrooms on toast the other night were ready to eat with slices of goats' cheese before the plates had heated fully in the oven. We live in an age of convenience food, but not all of it has to come out of a packet.
I may spend more time in the kitchen than a lot of people, but the truth is, come mid-week supper time, we're just as addled as everyone else. But I still insist on cooking my own food, except when it comes from my local Indian restaurant, from where supper arrives in a tin with a cardboard lid. That's a hot picnic, I tell myself, much the same as the leftover stew of lamb hearts and paprika I saved from Monday's supper and froze to have on Friday, this time with couscous in place of the rice.
Here are two recipes for quick autumn suppers:
Recipes serve 4
BRUSCHETTA WITH HARICOT BEANS AND BACON
(Serves 4 as a snack, 2 for a light meal)
4 slices of bread
400g tin haricot beans, rinsed and drained
100g streaky bacon, cubed
olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 lemon
Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Remove the pancetta and drain on kitchen paper.
Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in the same frying pan over medium heat, add the garlic and sage and stir until the garlic is pale gold. Add the beans and bacon, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring for three minutes. Toast the bread on a griddle (or grill). Spoon the beans on top and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice
ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH LIME AND CORIANDER CHUTNEY
2 small butternut squash
olive oil
generous handful of coriander
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
2 limes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180 degrees. Cut the squashes in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Lightly score the flesh with a sharp knife and brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook in the oven for 25 minutes, or until tender.
In a food processor or liquidiser combine the coriander, ginger, spring onions and the juice and the zest from the limes. Switch on briefly and dribble in enough olive oil to form a thick paste. Briefly toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and add to the coriander. Spoon a little of the chutney into the cavity in the squash and serve with lots of bread.