The cream of the crop

How to go from the "comfortable afternoon on the rug" to the " cozy evening under the duvet " without losing too much energy in the "evening tunnel" with the obligatory trip to the kitchen?  At Mezamé, autumn vegetables are our friends and synonymous with quick and comforting dinners after a long day. So, grab your butternut squash and pumpkins, and follow the Mezateam in the kitchen!

For a starter, try Pauline's butternut soup , ultra simple and quick if you also have a Thermomix (but the saucepan version works very well too): peel and dice a squash, cover with water, add a little salt… and go back to your mat ☺ We told you it was easy!

Okay, let's make things a bit more challenging and tackle a more substantial dish that will delight children, husbands, and friends. If you're the type who likes to season with chorizo ​​or bacon, follow Charlotte , Claire , and Bertille as they get ready to fire up their ovens!

We'll start with a quick and easy gratin : in a dish, arrange 300g of small pasta shells (uncooked, yes, we're keeping it simple), 700ml of vegetable stock, 115g of chorizo, 200g of mushrooms , a handful of spinach , and 250g of Boursin cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Did you like that? Let's move on to spaghetti carbonara . No vegetables? Of course there are: a spaghetti squash , cut in half lengthwise and with the seeds removed. Brush the flesh of the squash with neutral oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake for 50 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of the cooking time, fry some bacon in a pan and add some crème fraîche. Take the squash out of the oven and scrape the flesh with a fork: surprise, it looks like spaghetti, which you mix with the bacon. Of course, you can add real pasta to fool the picky eaters!

Finally, for the lasagna option, it takes a little longer but it's worth it: wash and halve a large butternut squash , remove the seeds, and cut it into cubes, without peeling it. Cook it for about 15 minutes in boiling milk with a little salt and pepper. Once it's cooked through, blend it into a purée, adding a generous handful of grated cheese. Next, chop an onion and a clove of garlic and sauté them in a little olive oil for 5 minutes, then add two ground beef patties. When the meat is cooked through, add tomato sauce, season, and let it simmer gently for 10 minutes. And for assembly? In a buttered dish, arrange a layer of lasagna noodles, a layer of butternut squash purée, and repeat. Next, cover everything with the meat sauce, and finish with a layer of lasagna and a generous bed of grated cheese. Bake for 35 minutes at 200°C, and serve immediately (with a nice green salad, of course)!

For DME friendly recipes, we take a little detour to Julia and Louise 's kitchens who offer us autumnal versions of pancakes and waffles (without sugar obviously).

Starting with 500g of pumpkin flesh, make a purée and let it cool completely. Meanwhile, in a bowl, prepare a crepe batter with 300g of flour, 4 eggs, and a pinch of salt. Add the pumpkin purée, then 60cl of milk, 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, a pinch of nutmeg, and a little pepper. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes, and then you're ready for a crepe party!

For the Belgian version, we chose to follow the sweet potato waffle recipe: same principle, first make a purée with 350g of sweet potato. Then add 50g of grated cheese and 100g of flour, along with a teaspoon of baking powder, 2 whole eggs, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the spices of your choice (here we used Espelette pepper). The batter should be smooth before being cooked in a waffle iron, like classic waffles. Serve them plain for the little ones, and give them an avocado-toast twist for the adults: with avocado, feta cheese, pickled red onions, herbs, a little tahini, and grilled bacon.

And if you're still short on ideas after all that, the Meza' community has shared their favorite recipes: pumpkin crumble (based on Claire's lasagna recipe) or pumpkin gratin with carrots and potatoes; a great selection of soups (orange soup with butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes, or mushroom and chestnut soup), and of course, variations on butternut squash, such as bacon risotto or curried velouté. Enjoy!