5 perfect Halloween food and wine pairings

The spookiest time of the year is approaching, and – given that the mini-lockdown we’re in will leave little room for costumed parties and nights out with friends – it’s better to get comfortable, set up the house and think about the Halloween menu, including wines of course. We have searched the web for some recipes to enliven the table on the 31st, treating ourselves to a menu with food and wine perfect combinations for a truly unforgettable Halloween evening!

Starters

A good menu cannot miss starters, and all the most famous recipe sites offer a big choice for Halloween appetizers; here are two original and interesting dishes, complete with our natural wine recommendations:

Pumpkin Deviled Eggs

This Pumpkin Deviled Eggs recipe is simple but really tasty and also makes a great impression on an aesthetic level: deviled eggs are an impressive dish too often forgotten on tables in the UK, which can be prepared easily in an array of delicious variants. This version, with pumpkin, will delight all palates and will give a touch of class to the whole table, right from the beginning of the meal.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs;
• 250 gr of pumpkin or butternut squash;
• salt;
• pepper;
• paprika

First, boil the eggs and let them cool, then cut them in half, remove the yolks and set them aside. Meanwhile, clean the pumpkin, cut it into slices and soften it in the oven. Then use a potato masher to turn it into a cream, add the hard-boiled egg yolks, salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika. Insert the cream into the space left by the egg yolks and refrigerate for half an hour before serving.

Wine match: Fabrice Gasnier Le Rosé 2013 Loire, France

Pumpkin Hummus

Hummus, creamy and delicate, is a dish that everybody loves: created by combining chickpeas and tahini sauce, for Halloween it can be prepared in a pumpkin-themed version. Not only: as the recipe for Pumpkin Hummus on the BBC website suggests, it can be an excellent idea to combine the taste with the decoration and serve it inside a small empty pumpkin. Thus the filling is not wasted and the spooky atmosphere is maintained even at dinner.

Wine match: Alla Costiera Prosecco 2014 Veneto, Italy

First course

There is also no shortage of Halloween themed first courses: just keep the pumpkin filling aside after carving it, knead it and…enjoy.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

Did you know that making pasta by hand is not only the prerogative of Italian grandmothers? Contrary to what one might think, making pasta is a simple operation that gives enormous satisfaction, especially since the dough can be customized and adapted to the seasons, sauces and holidays. So, for Halloween, there is nothing simpler than following this Pumpkin Gnocchi recipe to prepare them in no time at all.

Ingredients:

• 600 gr of pumpkin or butternut squash;
• 300 gr plain flour;
• 1 egg;
• salt

Cut the pumpkin into slices, remove the seeds and let it soften in the oven until it comes away easily from the skin, then create a cream with a potato masher and let it cool. Add the flour, egg and salt and knead until you get a smooth ball of dough without lumps. Let it rest covered with a cloth for at least 30 minutes. Then divide it into pieces, create long strips and cut them into small pieces; curl each piece with a fork to obtain the gnocchi.
Season with a butter and sage sauce or butter and Parmesan cheese.

Wine match: Palazzo Tronconi Mocevò 2016 Lazio, Italy

Second course

Whether you are an omnivore or a vegetarian, this Halloween you will not be disappointed: we have found two recipes to make everybody happy!

Stuffed Pumpkin

The BBC website offers another recipe in which the pumpkin is the protagonist: have you ever thought of how to prepare stuffed pumpkin? A nice dish to bring to the table, excellent to taste, with an original and lively filling. A must-try, check it out!

Wine match: Dalle Ore Cabernet Sauvignon IGT 2015 Veneto Italy

Chicken “alla Diavola”

Did you know that “Diavolo” in Italian means devil? So this chicken “alla Diavola” recipe takes on a tone decidedly in theme with a spooky menù. Coming directly from the Italian cookbook, this is a second course rich in chillies in a decidedly Mediterranean tone, which will bring the sun to the table even during one of the darkest nights of the year.

Ingredients:

1 medium chicken;
extra virgin olive oil;
chili powder;
salt

Clean the chicken and flatten it completely, so that it is easy to cook in its entirety. Make a cut along its entire length. Then start massaging it in all its parts with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and chilli powder until it is completely covered. Put a few tablespoons of oil in a deep pan and cook the chicken with a lid, turning it every ten minutes. Check with the thermometer to know when it is ready: it will take from 40 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the chicken.

Wine match: I Cacciagalli Mille 2017 Campania, Italy