Bonfire night fare for all the family

Judging by the number of food traditions associated with the event, it’s not just rockets, Catherine wheels and sparklers that keep people coming back for more.

It wouldn’t be Bonfire Night without some toffee, which you can buy just about anywhere, or have a go at making your own.

Melt 450g of soft brown sugar and 350g of salted butter with a teaspoon of malt vinegar and 150ml of water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.

It’s done when it reaches 130C or, if you don’t have a sugar thermometer, drop a little from a spoon into a saucer of cold water and it’ll set immediately when it’s ready.

It should take around 10 minutes to reach the right stage.

Place the mixture into a greased, shallow tray around 19cm square. Put it in the fridge and you’ll have delicious toffee to take to the bonfire with you.

Toffee apples are also a traditional treat on November 5 and can be made very easily at home a few days in advance.

Place 10 granny smith apples in a pan of boiling water for around 20 seconds. This will get rid of any wax on the apples that might stop the toffee sticking. Remove, twist off any stalks and dry thoroughly.

Then, place 400g caster sugar and 100ml of water in a large pan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Add four tablespoons of syrup and a teaspoon of malt vinegar and bring to a temperature of 140C. As with the toffee, you can test this with a teaspoon and a saucer of water if you don’t have a thermometer. This toffee should set immediately and go brittle.

Put skewers or lolly sticks in your apples and dip into the mixture. Lift up, twist, let some excess drip away and place on a sheet of baking parchment or greaseproof paper to harden.

Finally, if you want to take a warm drink with you, crush the seeds from five or six cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar, or underneath a heavy pan on a chopping board.

Add them to a cafetiere of your favourite coffee and a little sugar. Put in a flask and top up with warm milk. The perfect scented drink for a cold evening.

If you’re planning your own Bonfire Night party, here’s some grub to make it go with a bang...

Sausage and lentil traybake  

Serves 2-3 (double or triple amounts for larger parties)

3 small onions

6 good-quality sausages (we used Toulouse)

2 x 250g pouch cooked Puy lentils

3tbsp red wine vinegar

3tbsp maple syrup

Heat oven to 200C.

Quarter the onions, leaving the root intact so they don’t fall apart during cooking.

Heat a griddle pan to high. Griddle the onions to char them, then remove and set aside. Repeat with the sausages – you don’t need to cook them through at this point, just brown them.

Tip the lentils into a roasting tin and add any juices from the griddle pan, the vinegar and some seasoning, then toss together.

Arrange the onion wedges and sausages on top.

Brush the sausages and onions with the maple syrup, and season the onions. Cook for 20 minutes, then serve.

Pear parkin pudding with custard

Serves 8

200g porridge oats

200g self-raising flour

2tsp ground ginger

1/2tsp salt

175g treacle

140g butter, plus extra for the dish and for dotting over

140g light muscovado sugar, plus a bit more for sprinkling

2 balls stem ginger from a jar, chopped, plus some of the syrup to serve

1 large egg

150ml milk

4 ripe pears, peeled, stalks cut off, cored and halved

Custard, to serve

Heat your oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

Butter a 30 x 20cm baking dish. Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl.

Melt the treacle, butter and sugar together in a large saucepan, then stir in the dry ingredients, half of the chopped ginger, the egg and milk to make a smooth batter.

Spoon into the baking dish, then sit the pear halves in the batter. Dot more butter over each pear half and sprinkle with a little more sugar.

Bake for one hour until risen all over and a skewer inserted into the middle of the pudding comes out clean.

To serve, scatter the rest of the ginger over the fruit, then drizzle all over with syrup from the jar. Serve in rectangles with custard.