Butter bean and mushroom soup and squid toasts: Emily Roux’s autumn starters | Autumn food and drink

I’ve vivid reminiscences of selecting up fallen chestnuts with my mum, which was such a transparent sign of autumn for me as a toddler. We’d kick by piles of leaves to seek out them, then deliver them residence to attain and roast on the hearth. I bear in mind all the time burning my fingers as I attempted to peel them, but nonetheless I went again for extra. To me, autumn is all about earthy flavours and a comforting sense of nostalgia. It additionally marks a brand new chapter within the kitchen, as a result of the beginning of any new season is essentially the most thrilling time in a restaurant, after we get a complete new set of components to work with. Right this moment’s two first programs draw on these earthy, autumnal qualities, and work simply as effectively for a light-weight lunch as they do for a relaxed starter, with loads of room for manoeuvre relying on how hungry you and your friends are.Butter bean velouté with combined mushrooms and pickled onions (pictured high)Prep 15 minPickle 2 hrCook 40 minServes 4For the pickled onions1 small purple onion, peeled300ml cider vinegar 3 tbsp golden caster sugar 1 tbsp salt6 black peppercornsFor the butter bean velouté700g jar massive butter beans 50g olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice Finely grated zest of ½ lemonSalt and pepperFor the mushrooms50g oyster mushrooms 50g shiitake mushrooms 50g girollesOlive oil20g butter1 garlic clove, peeled and bashedTo serve1 tbsp pumpkin seeds1 pinch espelette pepper30g curly parsley, choppedCrispy chilli oil (optionally available)Finely slice the onion into rings and put them in a sieve. Put the vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns in a saucepan, deliver to a simmer and cook dinner for a minute, stirring so the salt and sugar dissolve. Take off the warmth.Fill and boil the kettle, then pour the boiling water over the onion rings and go away to empty and funky. As soon as the onions are cool to the contact, pack the rings right into a sterilised 500g jar, then pour over the nice and cozy pickling liquor, seal and go away to steep for a minimum of two hours.Drain the beans, reserving all of the jar liquor, and put aside just a few complete beans to make use of as a garnish on the finish. Put the remainder of the beans in a blender with the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and blitz till fully easy; you might want so as to add a splash of water to realize the smoothest consistency. Add the reserved jar liquor, season to style and blitz once more. The velouté is now prepared, to be served at room temperature or gently warmed by.Wipe all of the mushrooms with a humid fabric, then reduce into equal-sized slices. Put a drizzle of oil in a big frying pan on a excessive warmth, then add all of the mushrooms and, after a few minutes, after they start to crisp and tackle a little bit of color, add the butter and garlic, and season to style. Cook dinner for an additional couple of minutes, till the mushrooms are browned, then elevate them out of the pan and unfold out on a plate lined with kitchen paper, to absorb any extra water. Discard the garlic.Now to complete the dish. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a 180C (160C fan)/350F/fuel 4 oven for 12 minutes, then take away and season instantly with salt and espelette pepper. Divide the cooked mushrooms and reserved complete butter beans between 4 soup bowls. Pour the velouté à desk for a touch of wow issue, then serve topped with some pickled onions, toasted seeds and parsley. Should you like, end with a drizzle of additional olive oil or, my favorite, crispy chilli oil.Squid with padrón peppers and toasted almondsEmily Roux’s squid with padron peppers and toasted almonds.You’ll want to present the squid a minimum of eight hours so the marinade can work its magic.Prep 10 minMarinate 8 hr+Cook dinner 25 minServes 4For the squid and peppers500g cleaned and gutted sustainably-sourced squid12 padrón peppers 1 purple chilli 2 tsp sesame oil Zest and juice of ½ lime 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic 1 sprig recent thyme, leaves picked3 tbsp olive oil, plus further to complete 50ml cooking sakeTo finish30g flaked almonds 4 thick slices of sourdoughFinely grated zest of ½ lemon1 sprig recent coriander, leaves picked and choppedCut the squid into triangles and put them in a bowl. Thinly slice the peppers and chilli, and add to the bowl with all the opposite squid components besides the cooking sake. Cowl with clingfilm and put within the fridge to marinate for a minimum of eight hours, or in a single day.Toast the almonds in a 220C (200C fan)/425F/fuel 7 oven for 5 minutes, or till golden, then tip right into a bowl. Put the slices of bread on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and grill, turning as soon as, till crisp and goldenon each side.Put a big frying pan on a really excessive warmth, add a drizzle of oil and, as soon as it’s smoking sizzling, add the squid and pepper combine with the entire marinade. Toss always for not than a few minutes, in any other case the squid will flip chewy, then season to style and tip out on to a heat plate. Deglaze the pan with the sake, and let the liquid bubble and scale back till it turns saucy.Spoon the recent squid combination and all of the cooking juices from the pan over the toasts, end with the toasted flaked almonds, lemon zest and coriander, and serve sizzling.