HALLOWE’EN may be over for another year but on the plus side, pumpkins will now be selling cheaply and Bonfire Night is just around the corner.

November 5 means goodies like toffee apples and treacle toffee will fill shop shelves, but celebrity chef Peter Sidwell will be offering children the chance to make their own.

Peter, who launched Peter Sidwell@Rheged Cafe, Penrith, will hold his fifth set of cookery classes for kids today, and will help visitors create a range of bonfire-inspired goodies.

The Cumbrian-based culinary star is the author of the Simply Good book range and presenter of the Channel 4 cookery series, Lakes On A Plate.

Marketing manager Holly Venning said: “The workshops run for about fifty minutes and Peter and our chefs get really hands on, so it's very much a one-to-one experience. It's for children aged five plus but if the children are older Peter will make sure he lets them do a bit more of the technical stuff."

If you are a little bit older but still want to try something homemade, try Peter’s pumpkin and chorizo soup - perfect for warming you up before the firework display, and handy for using up any pumpkin left after carving.

Ingredients: 1/2 a pumpkin (approx 1kg) 1 white onion, chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp ground cumin 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1.2 litres vegetable stick 150 ml double cream salt and black pepper 100g good-quality chorizo, local produced where possible 1 tbsp sherry vinegar

Recipe:

  • Peel and deseed the pumpkin, then chop it into chunks - about 2-3cm should be ok. Put them in the biggest saucepan you have with the chopped onion, olive oil, cumin and garlic
  • Set the pan on a medium heat - you want to get some colour on the pumpkin, so fry it for about 5-10 minutes
  • Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 40 minutes
  • Blend the soup until smooth using a stick blender, then add the cream and taste for seasoning
  • When you are ready to serve the soup, hear a small frying pan while you dice or slice the chorizo sausage. Cook it gently for a few minutes until the fat starts to melt, then stir in the sherry vinegar and remove from the heat
  • Ladle the soup into bowls and top with some of the chorizo and the fat that has cooked out.