Harlequins (and Butternuts and Gems) for Fireworks Night

These are all squash, or squashes, (is the plural of squash squash or squashes?). My friend had a bunch of them sitting on her wall, catching the afternoon rays of the autumn sun. All of them are great to eat and I had a Harlequin squash. A good excuse to use my favourite new thing, my beanpot cazuela, brought back from Catalonia with care for its handmade fragility. And a good excuse to use the wild boar sausages from the market in Wells. It seems that wild boar are now roaming all over Somerset, having a fine old time, and eventually becoming excellent sausages. Mine came from Barrow Boar near Yeovil.

Steep 3 handfuls dried mixed beans overnight.

Preheat oven to 200ºC

½ Harlequin squash

Olive oil, sea salt

Line baking dish with tinfoil and dash in 1 tbsp oil

Cut squash into 3 pieces and remove seeds

Roll in oil and sprinkle with salt

Bake for about ½ hr until cooked through

Remove skin and dice flesh

Turn oven down to 180ºC

Into the beanpot go

Drained, steeped beans

1 tin chopped tomatoes, reduced in a frying pan with

2 tsp dried oregano, ground black pepper (no salt at this point)

Boiling water or stock to cover

Put pot in the oven for about 1 hr

4 wild boar sausages

1 tsp olive oil

Brown sausages in frying pan and add to bean pot

Add diced squash

Cook for a further hour, or until beans are tender.

Test for seasoning and add salt if necessary.

Good with a baked potato, a Catherine Wheel or a Roman Candle