What to cook with this Halloween
By Nicola Lando
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October 19th, 2023
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Hallowe'en doesn't have to be just about dressing up and kids trick or treating. We've brought together plenty of ideas to make the whole event a ghoulish - though of course delicious - feast.
Pick and choose from the ingredients ideas below. Or take a look at a few of our recipe ideas:
9 ingredients to try this Halloween
Is it a trick or treat? You decide! Eat Grub peri peri crickets are a fun, sustainable alternative to crisps and nuts with a chilled beer or even as a rice topping. This pocket-sized snack pack contains roasted crickets with herb and chilli peri peri seasoning - the ideal 'treat' for a trick or treater!
The ghost rice mould makes charming edible ghosts out of rice! This rice mould shapes sticky Japanese sushi rice to make ghost-shaped Onigiri in seconds - perfect for Halloween. Use the cut-out tools to make face details out of nori sheets and give your ghost personality too!
Dare we say it... Eat Grub's unflavoured edible grasshoppers are the perfect creepy crawly cupcake topping.They'll bring a nutty flavour, and extra protein!
Try out the other insects in the range (including buffalo worms).
Whether you're serving risotto, paella or pasta - there's nothing like squid ink to bring a Halloween edge to your meal. Alternatively mix into bread for rich dark burger buns for the most seafoody prawn cocktail roll.
Alternatively add a dash to up the spice in your bloody mary cocktail, breakfast eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches.
Halloween or not? You decide! Pastificio Del Colle’s squid ink striped farfalle resembles characterful striped bow ties! It is shaped by hand and coloured naturally with squid ink to create the sharp lines. Serve the pasta simply with a butter sauce and scattering of capers to highlight the dramatic colouring. Or, give the elegant pasta as a stylish gift.
Activated charcoal powder adds a striking colour to cakes, crackers, breads and ice cream, without altering the final flavour of a dish. Activated charcoal powder is made by burning coconut husks at very high temperatures which are then refined. This pure powder is loved by chefs for the visual effect it can provide.
Add to bread doughs or cracker mixes; to muffin, pancake or waffle batter; or blend with fruit and water for a smoothie.
The canned pumpkin pie filling is 100% natural, and contains only pumpkin.
Most pumpkins in the UK are grown for carving, rather than flavour, so it can be very difficult to make a flavoursome pumpkin pie from scratch. Canned pumpkin purée gives great flavour, and is worth experimenting with in cheesecakes, cookies, muffins, and even pumpkin soups.
We love using instead of banana in a banana bread recipe, and then spooning into cupcake cases. Top with charcoal-black icing for a striking centrepiece.... and perhaps a buffalo worm!
For something a little more chic... try this pumpkin and truffle puree. The rich, sweet and velvety pumpkin puree is given earthy depth by black truffle. Serve with fresh pasta, crispy fried sage leaves and just a touch of freshly grated parmesan for an indulgent supper. Alternatively you could try it in a filling for homemade ravioli or tortellini.
The pumpkin and truffle puree is produced in Acqualagna, the home of Italy's truffle market, by Marini & Azzolini who have been collecting and producing truffle products for over 50 years.
About the author
Nicola is co-founder and CEO at Sous Chef. She has worked in food for over ten years.
Nicola first explored cooking as a career when training at Leiths, before spending the next decade in Finance. However... after a stage as a chef at a London Michelin-starred restaurant, Nicola saw the incredible ingredients available only to chefs. And wanted access to them herself. So Sous Chef was born.
Today, Nicola is ingredients buyer and a recipe writer at Sous Chef. She frequently travels internationally to food fairs, and to meet producers. Her cookbook library is vast, and her knowledge of the storecupboard is unrivalled. She tastes thousands of ingredients every year, to select only the best to stock at Sous Chef.
Nicola shares her knowledge of ingredients and writes recipes to showcase those products. Learning from Sous Chef's suppliers and her travels, Nicola writes many of the recipes on the Sous Chef website. Nicola's recipes are big on flavour, where the ingredients truly shine (although that's from someone who cooks for hours each day - so they're rarely tray-bakes!).
