A Guide to Cooking with Autumn Squash and Apples

Squash and apples: a pairing that earns its place

By October, the British harvest gives us two things that work beautifully together: firm-fleshed squash and crisp, sharp apples. One is sweet and earthy, the other bright and acidic. Roasted side by side, they balance each other in a way that makes cold evenings feel rather more manageable. The good news is that neither needs much from you. A sharp knife, a hot oven, a little oil and salt, and perhaps a pinch of something warming — cinnamon, nutmeg, dried chilli — will do most of the work.

Choosing and storing your squash

Look for squash that feels heavy for its size, with a hard, unblemished skin and a dry, intact stalk. A soft spot, or a hollow thud when you tap it, usually means it has been sitting too long. Popular choices include:

• Butternut — reliable and sweet, easy to peel and cube; ideal for soups and trays of roasted vegetables.
• Crown Prince — dense, dry flesh with a deep orange colour; excellent roasted in wedges with the skin left on.
• Harlequin or Kabocha — nutty and firm, they hold their shape well in curries and grain salads.

Uncut squash keeps for weeks, sometimes months, in a cool, dark, dry place — a pantry shelf, a box in the utility room, a corner of the garage. Once cut, wrap the remainder tightly and use it within four or five days. Roast any spare flesh in advance; it keeps in the fridge for several days and reheats kindly.

Which apples to cook with

Eating apples and cooking apples behave quite differently. Bramleys collapse into a fluffy, sharp purée, which is exactly what you want for sauces, crumbles and stuffings. Cox's Orange Pippin, Egremont Russet and Discovery hold their shape better when roasted or fried, and their acidity cuts through the sweetness of squash. If you can, buy a mix. A bowl of apples on the kitchen table is also, quietly, one of the simplest pieces of seasonal decoration you can have — useful, edible and better looking than most things sold as ornaments.

Roasting: the simplest route to deep flavour

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6). Cut unpeeled squash into thick wedges, scoop out the seeds, toss with a generous glug of olive oil, fine salt and black pepper, and spread out in a single layer — crowding the tin steams the vegetables rather than roasting them. Give it 35–45 minutes, turning once, until the edges caramelise and a knife slides in easily.

For the last 15 minutes, add wedges of apple, a few unpeeled garlic cloves and a scattering of thyme or rosemary. The apples will soften and catch at the edges but still hold their shape. Finish with a squeeze of lemon or a splash of cider vinegar; that lift of acidity is what stops roasted vegetables tasting flat. Serve alongside sausages, fold through couscous, or pile onto toast with something creamy.

A hearty soup for grey afternoons

This is the sort of soup that fills the house with a smell worth coming home to. Soften a chopped onion in a heavy pan, then add a diced squash (about 700g prepared weight), two peeled and diced apples, a thumb of grated ginger and a teaspoon of ground cumin. Stir for a minute, then pour in about a litre of stock — chicken or vegetable, both work — and simmer for 25 minutes until everything collapses.

Blend until smooth, or leave it rough and chunky if you prefer. Taste, then adjust: salt, a grind of pepper, a little more ginger if it needs warmth, a squeeze of lemon if it needs brightness. A swirl of cream or a spoonful of yogurt is lovely but not essential. It freezes well in portions, which is the real argument for making double.

Spiced apples, and the everyday ritual of it

Peel and slice 500g of Bramleys, then cook them gently with two tablespoons of butter, two tablespoons of soft brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a grating of nutmeg for 10–12 minutes. Add a handful of raisins if you like. Eat warm over porridge, folded into yogurt, spooned over vanilla ice cream, or layered in a dish with breadcrumbs and baked for 20 minutes.

There is something steadying about cooking with what is actually in season. It slows the shopping down, uses up what is already in the bowl, and asks very little of the kitchen — one pan, one oven tray, a wooden spoon. Light a candle, put the radio on, and let the squash roast a little longer than you think it needs. Autumn cooking is not about precision; it is about warmth, and about making the shortest days feel generous.