Squash and chestnut parmigiana

The festive main event I’ve been searching for, my gift guide and a christmas cooking confession

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It’s late November and my kitchen is full of squash and clementines. Both of my ovens are stacked and the windows are cloudy with steam. There are three versions of this parmigiana about to come out of the oven. It’s recipe writer Christmas - an extra Christmas that comes to anyone who writes recipes for a living, anytime from August to November.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you I love to do this. I love to come up with recipes, with ideas and new easy ways with ingredients. But at this time of year, I feel torn about the need to create something new. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Solstice, Hannukah whatever you celebrate - this time of year and its food is about tradition. We all have recipes we lovingly cling to. That’s because there are so many things that a festive recipe has to do. There are other people’s tastes to consider and we want to make food that we know will please everyone around the table. And for most of us there are more people than usual to cook for. We place a lot of emphasis (and pressure) on one meal, which means it’s not the time to try out new recipes. 

I’ve written a lot of festive recipes that only get an outing once a year, and I stand by them. So when I think about Christmas, if I am really honest, I don’t feel the need to reinvent them. These recipes are loved, tested and retested and they are the things I will put on my table.

So when I add a recipe to the roster of festive recipes I expect a lot from it. It has to be something that feels, different, easier, more delicious and quite simply it has to be the thing I want on my table this Christmas. 

And this is it, what I am making this year. It’s got everything I want. The flavours are all the things I want to eat at Christmas, squash, cavolo nero, chestnuts, Parmesan, lemon and winter herbs. 

When I thought about whether I was going to write a new ‘main’ recipe this year I looked back at all the pies, galettes, nut roasts, stuffed squashes and tarts I have written recipes for over the years, all of which I still make each winter, I knew I wanted something a bit more relaxed.

I still want it to sit alongside all the things that mean Christmas dinner to me - roast potatoes, red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, greens and gravy. So whatever I was going to make was going to have to sit alongside all these things. 

My thoughts turned to lasagne. Lasagne is an event to cook, which I think is ok at Christmas and a thing to marvel at but I could not level the idea of pasta next to my roast potatoes. But I knew I wanted the deeply satisfying cheesy creamy vibe that a lasagne brings. 

And this is where I ended up. I’ve called it a Parmigiana but it’s a very long way from a traditional Parmigiana. I use the word Parmigiana as more of a feeling to express the creamy, parmesan layers, the richness and the golden top. This is not meant or intended to be a traditional parmigiana, there is no aubergine, there is cream and there are chestnuts.

Layering the squash and cavolo with Parmesan, mozzarella and herbs felt like making a parmigiana or lasagne so that’s what I have called it - so you can understand the richness, the depth, the crispy edges and more than anything the feeling of eating it.

Today’s recipe and video of me cooking it (including a confession of my most dramatic Christmas cooking disaster - it’s a shocker) is for the beloved subscribers who support my work here with a paid subscription. If that’s you, thank you, it means a huge amount. If you would like the recipe and to become a paid subscriber you can do that here and as always if you’d like it but your means do not stretch then please, as ever, get in touch.

Now I don’t want to leave anyone without something to put in the middle of the table this Christmas so below in green I’m linking my most loved main event recipes.

Week two of my festive gift guide (with discounts)

• There is always one of these jugs on my table (discount below)*

• Make your own colourful ribbons and winter wreath

• This hit of spice on everything, please

• Hand pinched side plates in toasty colours

• We all need one of these sweaters

• Bowls with holes

• I’ve wanted one of these silk scarves for a very long time (discount below)*

• A set of these linen napkins in every colour

• Put together your own gift set of essential greek herbs + spices (discount below)*

• Don’t miss out pre-ordering these for little ones. Ours is treasured

• Any one of these stoneware pieces, the pasta bowls are on my list (discount below)*

• I’ll be Christmas shopping here and here and probably here too

• Made to order shirts with great collars

• Plant someone a bulb lasagne, my brilliant gardener friend swears by Sarah Raven’s bulbs (discount below)*

• Necklaces that match your favourite shirt

(discount below)* = As an extra bit of festive cheer for my paid subscribers I have some generous discount codes for some of my favourite places to shop - stuff I will be giving to my family. They are for paid subscribers, so if that’s you then you will see them below the recipe, there will be more discounts in the next few newsletters. Sign up to support my work and get them all.