Cooking on Countryfile with Matt Baker was a real pleasure. As you might imagine he really does seem as lovely in real life as he is on the TV! We had a lot of fun preparing the piece that was used on the programme and spent time in the grower’s polytunnel looking at the pumpkins and squashes before heading up to St Richard’s Church to film our recipe work together.

Matt’s Squash Pate
Serves 6

675g Crown Prince or butternut squash, seeded
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 hot red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Oil
200g soft cheese
1-2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Cut the squash into 4cm slices then roast, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and a little ground cumin if you wish, and drizzled with oil, for 45 mins. Leave to cool, then cut the flesh from the skin and mash roughly.
2 Beat the soft cheese until smooth with the garlic and chilli, then fold in the squash with the parsley. Season to taste and season well. Chill lightly and serve with hot toast and a salad garnish.

Squash humus
Serves 4-6

750g Crown Prince squash
½ tsp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
100ml plus a little more extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp tahini
1-2 cloves garlic

1 Preheat the oven to gas mark 7, 220℃. Cut the squash into 2-3cm wedges, and sprinkle with the cumin and a little oil. Roast for 45 mins or until tender. Leave to cool completely.
2 Scrape the squash from the skin and place in a processor or blender with the oil, tahini and garlic, Blend until almost smooth and season to taste. Serve with toast, pitta or vegetables.

Serves 2-3
American Hot Pizza
Pumpkin for pizza lovers! To make a purée, peel and dice the pumpkin or squash, removing the seeds. Steam or microwave the flesh until soft. Press out any water with the back of a wooden spoon then beat until smooth.



250g white bread dough mix OR
250g strong white bread flour plus 1 tsp fast acting dried yeast
½ tsp salt
425g thick pumpkin purée, fresh or canned
1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra
75ml warm water
160g marinated artichoke hearts (280g jar, drained)
1-2 tbsp capers, drained
10-12 black olives
Jalapeno slices
125g mozzarella
Freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the dough mix, salt, one third of the pumpkin and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl and start to mix together. Gradually add the water and mix until the ingredients form a ball of dough which looks a bit dry - this is better than sticky! Turn onto a worktop sprinkled with flour and knead, or work, the dough with your firsts and knuckles, pulling it from the outside of the ball and pressing it firmly into the centre. The dough will become smoother but will be soft, because of the pumpkin in the mixture. Knead it for 3-4 minutes, then roll out into a circle approx 25-30cm in diameter, which will fit on your baking sheet. Cover with plastic film or a clean damp teatowel and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7, 225C, 425F.
2 Spread the remaining pumpkin purée over the pizza base, then top with the artichokes, capers, olives and as many jalapenos as you like. Tear the mozzarella into 8-10 pieces, dot it over the pizza, then season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
3 Bake in the hot oven for 25 minutes, until the base is crisp and the mozzarella has browned.