Roast pumpkin soup with walnuts & herb oil

For ➏ 

1 kg pumpkin, such as kabocha 

400 g sweet potatoes, unpeeled 

15 cl olive oil 

5 g sage leaves 

1 red chilli, thinly sliced on an angle (10 g) 

1 leek, trimmed & cut into 2mm rounds (200 g) 

1 large onion, peeled & roughly chopped (240 g) 

10 g piece fresh ginger, peeled & julienned 

fine sea salt 

½ ts smoked paprika 

½ ts ground coriander 

2 small potatoes (200 g) 

60 g walnuts 

1½ tbs maple syrup 

10 g coriander leaves, finely chopped 

10 g parsley leaves, finely chopped 

1 ts finely grated lemon zest 

Heat the oven to 220° C (200° C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the whole pumpkin and sweet potatoes on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and roast, turning once halfway, for an hour, until soft and golden. Remove and turn down the oven to 180° C (160° C fan)/350F/gas 4. Once they’re cool enough to handle, use a metal spoon to peel off the pumpkin and sweet potato skins, and to scoop out the pumpkin seeds. Meanwhile, put 80ml olive oil in a small saucepan on a medium heat, then add the sage leaves and fry for about 2 m, until deeply green. Use a slotted spoon to lift out the sage, transfer to a sheet of kitchen paper and leave to crisp up. Add the chilli to the hot oil, fry, stirring occasionally, for about 2 m, until deeply red, then transfer to the kitchen paper alongside the sage. 

Transfer the hot oil to a large saucepan on a medium heat, add the leek, onion, ginger and three teaspoons of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 m, until soft and translucent. Add the smoked paprika and ground coriander, cook for a minute, until fragrant, then add the cooked pumpkin and sweet potato flesh, and 1.6 litres of water. Peel and grate the potatoes on to a chopping board, then add to the soup before they discolour. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 m. While the soup is cooking, make the nut brittle. Line a small baking tray with greaseproof paper, top with the walnuts, maple syrup and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat. Roast, stirring once halfway, for about 10 m, until toasted and golden brown, then remove, sprinkle the fried sage and chilli on top, toss to combine and leave to cool. 

Once the nut mix is cool, scrunch up the paper to crush the brittle into smaller pieces. Make the herb oil by combining the coriander, parsley, lemon zest, remaining 70 ml oil and a quarter-ts of salt in a small bowl. Once the soup has cooked, take off the heat and blitz with a stick or regular blender until smooth and velvety. Add a splash more water to loosen, if need be, then divide between six bowls. Scatter the maple walnut brittle on top and serve drizzled with the herb oil.

Mushroom lasagne

For ➏

750 g chestnut mushrooms, halved 

500 g oyster mushrooms 

13 cl olive oil, plus extra for greasing 

60 g dried porcini 

30 g dried wild mushrooms 

2 dried red chillies, roughly chopped, (remove the seeds for a less spicy result) 

50 cl hot vegetable stock 

1 onion, peeled, quartered 

5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 

1 carrot, scraped, quartered, 90 g 

2-3 roma tomatoes, quartered, 200 g 

75 g tomato paste 

13 cl whipped cream* 

60 g pecorino romano, finely grated* 

60 g Parmigiano, finely grated* 

5 g basil leaves, finely chopped 

10 g parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus 1 ts extra for dressing 

250 g dried lasagne sheets (approx. 14 sheets)** 

salt & black pepper

Heat the oven to 230 °C. 

Place the chestnut and oyster mushrooms in three or four batches in the large bowl of a food processor and chop finely using the pulse button (or chop by hand). In a large mixing bowl, toss the chopped mushrooms with 3 tbs oil and 1 ts salt and spread on a large, parchment-lined baking tray with a raised edge measuring 40 x 35 cm. Bake them in the top of the oven for 30 m, turning them three times in between until the mushrooms are golden brown; the volume will have shrunk considerably. Set them aside. Lower the oven temperature to 200 °C.

Meanwhile, in another mixing bowl, mix the dried mushrooms with chilies and hot stock and soak for 30 m. Strain the liquid into a third bowl and press as much moisture as possible out of the mushrooms, you will need about 34 cl in total; top up the soaking water with fresh water if necessary. Chop the soaked mushrooms very coarsely (so that there are also large pieces) and chop the chilies. Set aside the stock and mushrooms separately. 

Chop the onion, garlic and carrot in the food processor with the pulse button (or by hand). Heat 6 cl oil in a large sauté pan over medium to high heat. When hot, add the onion mixture and cook for 8 m, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and golden brown. 

Chop the tomatoes in the food processor with the pulse button (or chop them by hand), add them with the tomato paste, 1½  ts salt and 1¾ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper. Let everything simmer for 7 m, stirring occasionally. Add the soaked mushrooms, chilies and toasted mushrooms and let everything cook gently for 9 m, resist the urge to stir: the mushrooms should be slightly crispy and brown on the underside. 

Stir in the reserved stock and 80 cl water, turn the heat to medium-high when everything is simmering gently and let the sauce simmer for about 25 m, stirring occasionally until it has the consistency of ragout. Stir 10 cl of whipped cream into the sauce and let it simmer for 2 m more then take the pan off the heat. 

Mix the pecorino and Parmigino with basil and parsley in a small bowl. When assembling the lasagna, spread one-fifth of the sauce over the bottom of a round baking dish of 28 cm in diameter (or a rectangular dish of 30 x 20 cm), spread one-fifth of the cheese mixture on top, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, broken where necessary to make them fit. Repeat these layers three times in the same order, finishing with a layer of sauce and cheese: a total of five layers of sauce and cheese, and four layers of pasta. 

Drizzle the top with 1 tbs of cream and 1 tbs of oil, cover the dish with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 15 m. Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 220 ° C and bake the lasagna for another 12 m, turning the dish halfway through the baking time. Switch the oven to the grill setting and grill the lasagna for 2 m until the edge is brown and crispy. 

Put the bowl aside, let the lasagna cool for about 5 m, then drizzle the top with the remaining whipped cream and oil. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, finally grind a generous twist of pepper and serve. 

*Discard for vegan version.

**Make it ahead of time and refrigerate it to serve it with pasta or polenta and save yourself the trouble of putting together a lasagna if you don't have much time. You can prepare the lasagna in advance, put it in the refrigerator and bake it the next day (after it has reached room temperature). 

This special ragout pays tribute to the penne all'Aconese,  served at Restaurante Pizzeria Acone, a community-run restaurant in the Tuscan town of Acone. The recipe is a carefully kept secret, but the complex, earthy and full umami flavor of dried porcini is not to be missed. This is Ottolenghi's meatless take on that mythical sauce.