- 1 butternut squash
- 3 onions
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 clementine
- 200g cooked chestnuts
- 200g baby leaf spinach
- 50g butter
- 200g stilton
- 2 eggs
- 2 x 300g all butter shortcrust pastry
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- A pinch or two of flour (optional)
- 1.
Trim the top and bottom off the squash. Peel it, then slice it in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds and membrane (see our tip on how to make a tasty snack using the seeds). Chop the squash into 1-2cm-thick chunks. Peel and thinly slice the onions.
- 2.
Pour 2 tbsp oil into a large pan and warm it over a medium-low heat. Slide the chopped squash and onions into the pan and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add the cinnamon stick to the pan. Pop on a lid and cook the squash and onions for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally, till the the squash and onions are golden and tender. If the pan looks dry at any point, add a splash of water and continue cooking.
- 3.
Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the garlic. Finely grate the clementine and squeeze the juice into a bowl. When the squash and onions have softened, add the garlic. Crumble in the cooked chestnuts. Cook for a further 5 mins, lid on but stirring occasionally.
- 4.
Add the spinach to the pan with the clementine zest and juice. Add 50g of the butter to the pan (keep the rest for your other recipes) and stir together. Keep stirring till the spinach leaves have wilted. Scoop the contents of the pan into a bowl and allow to cool. You can do this the night before you want to bake the wreath, and keep the cooked squash filling in the fridge.
- 5.
When you’re ready to bake the wreath, take the pastry out of the fridge and let it sit at room tempertaure for around 15 mins.
- 6.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the cooled squash mixture. Crumble in the stilton. Break 1 egg into a bowl. Whisk the egg with a fork, then pour it into the squash mixture. Fold everything together till well combined. Set aside. Crack the remaining egg into a bowl and beat it with a fork. Set aside.
- 7.
Roll both blocks of pastry into rectangles around 40cm x 10cm long, dusting your work surface with a pinch of flour from your cupboard if you have some. If not, you can roll the pastry out between 2 sheets of baking paper.
- 8.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper and place on your work surface. Transfer 1 rectangle to the tray. Place the other on your work surface next to the tray. Join the narrow ends of both rectangles together to create 1 large, long rectangle of pastry, pressing the pastry together and brushing with a little water to seal the pastry edges together, if you need to.
- 9.
poon the cooled squash mixture along the middle of the pastry – you may not need to use all of it. Any leftover filling can be spooned into a lightly greased baking dish and set aside. Brush one long edge of the rectangle with a little of the beaten egg, then fold the other long edge of pastry over the filling to join with the brushed side, and press to stick (it should resemble a large sausage roll). Carefully bring the two ends of the sausage together into a circular wreath shape on the baking tray, and press the pastry to join the ends. Pop it into the fridge to chill for 20 mins. Keep any leftover beaten egg.
- 10.
reheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. After the wreath has chilled for 20 mins, remove from the fridge and brush with the remaining beaten egg. Scatter over the sesame seeds. Slide the wreath into the oven and bake for 35-40 mins, till deep golden brown. If you have a dish of extra filling, bake it on the shelf below the wreath till golden and bubbling.
- 11.
arefully slide the wreath onto a serving plate and serve straight away, with the extra baked filling (if you have some) and the Sticky Onion Gravy.
- Tip
No Waste, More Taste: You can turn the seeds from your squash into a tasty snack. Pull off any threads of flesh stuck to them, then tip the seeds into a bowl. Add a glug of oil, a pinch of salt and your choice of spices (smoked paprika, ground cumin, garam masala or cinnamon are all good choices). Toss to coat. Fry in a dry frying pan set on a medium heat for 3-4 mins, stirring occasionally, till puffed up and browned. Store in an airtight tub for up to 7 days.
- Tip
Love your leftovers: The wreath will keep for up to 3 days in the frdge, or you can slice it, transfer to tubs and freeze it for up to 3 months. You can reheat the pie in the oven, loosely covered with foil, or in the microwave. Defrost overnight before reheating.