Mhajeb - Moroccan Squash Pastries

I love these little filled pastries that are eaten in Morocco and Algeria.  They can be filled with whatever you fancy, in these I have used squash and chicken with spices.

Makes 8

Ingredients

400 g fine semolina
200 g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
500 ml water

Filling
1 Chicken breast, finely shredded
1 small onion, finely sliced
450 g of grated squash or pumpkin
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
pinch of chilli flakes
1 large teaspoon of tomato purée
Oil 
salt and pepper

How to go about it

First make the dough;  mix the semolina, flour and salt in a mixing bowl, add enough water to make the dough, about 275 ml.  Turn out on to a work surface and knead for 10 minutes at the same time sprinkling with the rest of the water, you might not need all of it.  The dough should be soft and supple.  Rub some oil on it and cover and let rest for 40 minutes.

While the dough is resting make the filling.  Gentle fry the onion in oil for 5 minutes then add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes.  Put in the chicken and spices and season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes.  Then add the grated squash and tomato purée with and couple of tablespoons of water, cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, adjust the seasoning.  Let cool completely. Divide the filling into 8 portions in the pan.

Oil the work surface and your hands and turn out the dough and divide into 8 balls.  Take a ball and gentle smooth out the dough, leave it slightly thicker in the centre where the filling will go, you will be able to get the dough quite thin.  Place a portion of the filling and fold over one side, then the other, making a long rectangle.  Fold over one of the long sides of rectangle, the last side is folded underneath to make a square parcel.  Make the rest of the Mhajeb then gentle fry on each side until golden, about  5 minutes on each side.

Squash and Citrus Jam

It's nice to have a bit of homemade jam in winter, but unfortunately for my jam-eating husband, the larder is empty.  The choice of seasonal fruit in winter is small but fear not for the ever enduring squash is still rearing its beautiful head in my house and putting itself forward as prime candidate for the task of restocking the pantry.  So all is not lost and my husband can continue eating his trois tartins with confiture and dipping them in his bowl of coffee every morning.


Ingredients

1.5 kg squash, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 oranges
2 lemons
1.300 kg sugar

Finely slice the oranges and lemons and put them in a bowl with the squash and sugar.

Leave for 24 hours

A lot of liquid will have come out of the squash and citrus

Cook on medium to high heat until you reach setting point, 190°c or until a bit sets on a cold plate.  I'm not overly bothered if my jam doesn't set hard, I prefer to keep the fruit flavour and not spoil it by over cooking.

Prepare some jars by washing them in hot soapy water and heating the jars in the oven on 100°c for 20 minutes.  Use new lids each time you make conserves.

Squash, Date and Apricot Muffins

Here we go again, another squash recipe.  That's how it swings when you grow your own food, it's all or nothing.  I have to start using up my stock of squashes or they will eventually go rotten, although, quite often I am still eating last years squashes well into the next summer season.  These muffins also freeze well.

Makes about 24 Muffins

Dry ingredients mixed together
650 g  plain flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon salt
250 g sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar

Wet ingredients mixed together
2 eggs
500 ml buttermilk
160 ml oil ( I used olive oil but you could use rapeseed or sunflower)
1 large tablespoon of molasses

400 g grated squash of your choice
50 g toasted almonds, finely chopped
60 g dates, finely chopped
60 g dried apricots; finely chopped

How to go about it

Preheat the oven to 180°c.  Use a muffin tin and put paper cases in each mold.  Mix wet and dry ingredients together than fold in squash, nuts and dried fruit.  Fill paper cases to the brim and bake for 35 minutes, insert skewer in center to see if they are cooked, it should come out clean.

Leave to cool before eating.

Squash Gnocchi with Mandarin, Lemon and Saffron sauce with Cavolo Nero and crumbed Roquefort

A different way to make gnocchi, the sweetness of the squash is offset by the citrus and salty Roquefort, it all seems to come together nicely and is not so difficult to make.

Serves 4

Ingredients

About 800 g of squash of your choice
Up to 500 g of fine semolina flour
2 eggs
Large pinch of saffron
1 mandarin
Half a lemon
50 g Roquefort cheese
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
100 ml boiling water
100 g cavolo nero
Salt and Pepper

How to go about it

First cut the squash into wedges and place on a baking tray and bake for about 25 mins in a hot oven 200° c. It should be still firm but cooked.  While the squash is cooking put the grated rind of the mandarin and lemon in a bowl along with their juice.  Bring the 100 ml of water to the boil and add the saffron, let it infuse for 5 minutes off the heat and then add this to the juice.  Stir in the olive oil, keep this sauce warm until ready to serve.

When squash is cool enough to handle peel off the skin and pass it through a potato ricer or mash it. Mix in 2 eggs and half a teaspoon of salt, a good grinding of black pepper.

Mix in the fine semolina flour until you are able to form it into a thin sausage shape on a heavily floured work surface, cut it into small pieces.

Finely shred the cavolo nero and have ready a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.  Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add gnocchi, give it a gentle stir to make sure it is not stuck on the bottom.  It will cook in 2 - 3 minutes, when it rises to the top take it out with a slotted spoon, you can cook it in batches if you like.

Heat the frying pan on high heat and flash fry the cavolo nero until wilted.   Mix in the citrus and saffron sauce with the gnocchi making sure that it is all coated with it, top with the cavolo nero and crumb over the Roquefort cheese.

Squash and Fennel Soup

In the winter there are two vegetables I have loads of and to tell you the truth I get a bit bored with them so I thought I'd zing this soup up with a bit of ginger.  Also, instead of liquidizing it I have left it chunky and rustic. I have loads of squashes which are stored in straw-filled crates for winter and fennel still growing.  There are many versions of this soup, and lots call for roasting the vegetables, in mine they are cooked slowly in a Spanish cast-iron pot called a Puchero.  You can use any type of pan but you must cook it very slowly, the ingredients have to be totally cooked before adding the liquid.

Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients

2 large fennel bulbs
Half a large squash, butternut or Muscade de Provence
Half a thumb size piece of fresh ginger
Pinch of chilli flakes
2 cloves of garlic
Small bunch of fresh coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
Water or stock

How to go about it

Wash and chop fennel into small pieces, peel and cube squash.  Put these into your chosen pan with a good slug of olive oil. Grate ginger, finely chop garlic and roughly chop coriander and add to the pan, season with salt and pepper.  Cook gently until the vegetables are soft and melting, about 25 mins.  Then add enough water or light stock to make a thick soup.  You will find the flavors have concentrated and usually water is sufficient to give a lovely natural tasting soup.