Woodfired travels #2 for the Morso

Our final recipe from our woodfired day with our Morso Forno and Nick Hook at Lyme Bay Winery. A little out of kilter; yes I know 2 comes after 1 and not 5 but that’s how we travel, a bit randomly. This one’s a pumpkin dish so great as a vegetarian main or a side and perfectly timed for Thanksgiving weekend and good for using up the pile of squash and pumpkins we were given. I find squash and pumpkins can be overly sweet, much like sweet potatoes and too much for my taste; however a bit of charring in the woodfired oven takes down the sweetness a notch or 2 and adds a savouryness and depth of flavour. We served the quash with Lyme Bay’s Bacchus Block which with its grapefruitiness and herbal tones, also cuts right through the squashy sweetness.

1 large butternut squash

8 shallots, peeled and cut in 2

3tbsp olive oil

Good pinch of salt and pepper

1tbsp chopped fresh marjoram

 

1. Build a good fire in the Morso Forno in the centre of the oven and let it burn for 30 minutes to really heat through the floor.
   

   Make sure you heat the base of the Forno Floor up before pushing the fire to the side

2. Move the fire to the side of the Forno, feeding it with small pieces of kindling to keep the temperature up.
3. Cut the squash into 8 equal wedges from the top to the bottom and scoop out the seeds. Rub with half the oil and then sprinkle over the salt, pepper and marjoram.
4. Put the butternut wedges on a Morso griddle pan and place on the oven floor to cook until charred and tender – about 10-12 minutes. Keep adding small bits of wood to the fire to maintain a roasting heat.
   

   Loving the charring on the squash

5. Toss the shallots in the rest of the oil and put them cut side down on a griddle pan to cook through and colour in the Forno, putting the pan directly on to some of the embers for some high heat from below.
6. While the veggies were cooking, we rustled up a quick slaw of ¼ of a white cabbage, 1 fennel bulb and 2 red skinned apples, all very thinly shredded and mixed with 2tbsp good quality mayo. When the squash and shallots are ready, arrange them on top of the slaw and serve at once or at room temperature with a glass of citrussy Bacchus Block.

If you’re thinking you need to learn more about wood fired cooking on a Morso, join us on one of our courses – you’ll learn lots, eat well (!) and have a lot of fun.

Xanthe Clay, food writer of the Daily Telegraph, says,

“…without wishing to gush, if you are getting a wood burning oven you really should do the Manna from Devon course. In fact, I’d say it’s essential”

 

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