3 Cosy Autumn Recipes From Riverford’s New Cookbook

As the weather cools and exciting new fruit and vegetables come into season, autumn is a great time to get back into some cooking. Need a bit of inspiration? Organic vegetable box delivery service Riverford is marking its 40th anniversary with a new recipe book, The Riverford Cookbook: Easy Evenings. The brand’s first book in over a decade, it’s filled with quick, nutritious ideas for weeknight meals which put vegetables centre stage. We share three of our favourites below.

Riverford Shares 3 Autumnal Vegetarian Recipes

Creamy Squash Pasta With Crispy Sage

Grating the squash speeds up the cooking and gets it to the stage where it can be blended into a smooth rich sauce. You could roast the shallots and squash instead; that will give a slightly better depth of flavour but will require more equipment and time.  

• Serves 4 
• Prep & cook: 40 minutes  

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 4 shallots, finely sliced 
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• 600g peeled squash, coarsely grated 
• 600ml vegetable or chicken stock 
• 25g butter 
• 16 sage leaves 
• 500g pasta of your choice  
• 150ml double cream 
• Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste  
• 60g toasted hazelnuts, chopped 
• Salt and black pepper 

To serve 

Parmesan cheese or veggie alternative

Method:

1. Put a large saucepan of salted water on to boil for the pasta.  
2. Warm the olive oil in a separate large saucepan and add the shallots with a pinch of salt. Try the shallots gently for about 8 minutes until starting to soften.  
3. Add the garlic and grated squash. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring often, before adding the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the squash is completely  tender.  
4. While the squash is cooking, put a small frying pan over a gentle heat. Melt the butter, then add the sage leaves and  fry until they sizzle and start to crisp up. Remove them from the pan and keep to one side. Keep the pan of butter to one side too.  
5. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook it according  to the packet instructions while you finish the sauce. 
6. When the squash is tender, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Use a stick blender to blend the squash into a smooth, silky sauce. Add a dash or two of the pasta water to thin it to the desired consistency if it seems too thick. Taste and tweak the seasoning to your taste with salt, pepper and some freshly grated nutmeg.  
7. Drain the pasta and stir it into the sauce. Divide between shallow bowls and garnish with the hazelnuts, crispy sage leaves and a spoonful of the sage-flavoured butter. Serve with some Parmesan for everyone to grate over their pasta.  

COOK’S NOTE 

Squash purée isn’t dissimilar to a soup. With that in mind, think about turning leftover soup into a pasta sauce, enriched with a bit of dairy, a dash of starchy pasta water and appropriate garnishes. Tomato or mushroom soups are an obvious fit.  

Halloumi Chow Mein

Simple take-away classic meets the zeitgeist cheese. Yes, this might seem like a cultural car crash, but trust us – the halloumi is crisp, salty and works a treat. 

• Serves 4 
• Prep & cook: 20 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 300g dried egg noodles 
• 4 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 3 tbsp soy or tamari sauce 
• 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder or ½ veggie stock cube 
• 2 tbsp neutral oil of choice 
• 400g halloumi, finely diced 
• 200g pointed or hispi cabbage, finely shredded 
• 2 carrots, cut into fine matchsticks 
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced 
• 100g bean sprouts 

To serve 

Crispy chilli oil (optional)

Method:

1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then refresh them under cold water. Drain and keep to one  side. 
2. Mix the oyster sauce and soy sauce in a bowl, then whisk in the bouillon or crumble in the stock cube. Set aside. 
3. Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the halloumi until golden on all sides. Remove and set aside. 
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and, when it’s very hot, toss in the cabbage and carrots. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes over a high heat. 
5. Add the onions and bean sprouts and cook for 1 more minute before adding the drained noodles and the halloumi. Stir-fry for a final minute before pouring in the sauce. 
6. Remove the pan from the heat and toss everything together to coat it in the sauce. Divide between shallow bowls and serve with a drizzle of chilli oil, if using. Eat immediately. 

VARIATIONS 

• Swap halloumi for firm cubed and fried tofu, or strips of chicken turned in a bit of cornflour to help it crisp.  
• The veg can be swapped around but try to use veg that can keep a bit of raw bite to it and avoid leaves that will wilt too much and make the dish soggy. 

Winter Caesar Salad

Our version of a potato salad is full of crunch and flavour. It’s built on the foundations of a Caesar salad, but the eggs are boiled and chopped rather than emulsified into the dressing.  

• Serves 4 
• Prep & cook: 40 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 800g small/medium waxy potatoes, scrubbed 
• 3 eggs 
• 300g purple sprouting broccoli,  trimmed into pencil-thin lengths 
• 3 thick slices of sourdough bread 
• Olive oil 
• 8 rashers of streaky bacon (optional) 
• 1 cos lettuce 
• Small bunch of tarragon or chervil, finely chopped 
• Salt and black pepper 

Dressing 

• 3 tbsp finely chopped capers  
• 1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard 
• Juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
• 5 tbsp olive oil 

To serve

Parmesan cheese 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. 
2. Cut small potatoes in half and medium ones into  quarters. Fill a large pan with cold water and season generously with salt. Add the potatoes and eggs and bring to the boil.  
3. Exactly 5 minutes from the moment the water comes to the boil, remove the eggs and cool them under cold running water. Leave the potatoes cooking for a few more minutes or until they are tender to the tip of a knife. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside to steam dry and cool a little.  
4. Put the broccoli into the boiling water and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool quickly in cold water.
5. While the potatoes and broccoli are cooking, make the croutons. Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces. Put them on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp, then remove and set aside. If using bacon, put it on the tray once the croutons are done and cook it for 10–12 minutes or until crisp. Leave to cool, then roughly chop.  
6. To make the dressing, mix the capers and mustard together in a large mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the garlic. Whisk in the oil, a little at a time, until you have a thick emulsified dressing. Taste and adjust with more salt and lemon juice to your liking.  
7. Peel the eggs and coarsely grate them into the mixing  bowl with the dressing. Tear the lettuce into generous pieces and add them to the bowl, along with the potatoes, broccoli, croutons, herbs and the bacon, if using. Toss everything together well. To finish, shave some Parmesan  over the salad with a veg peeler.  

COOK’S NOTE: You can make the croutons and dressing in advance if you like. The croutons will keep for several days in an airtight container and the dressing remains fresh for three or four days in the fridge.

The Riverford Cookbook: Easy Evenings is out now (Quarto Publishing)