Butter bean and mushroom soup and squid toasts: Emily Roux’s autumn starters

I have vivid memories of picking up fallen chestnuts with my mum, which was such a clear signal of autumn for me as a child. We’d kick through piles of leaves to find them, then bring them home to score and roast on the fire. I remember always burning my fingers as I tried to peel them, yet still I went back for more. To me, autumn is all about earthy flavours and a comforting sense of nostalgia. It also marks a new chapter in the kitchen, because the start of any new season is the most exciting time in a restaurant, when we get a whole new set of ingredients to work with. Today’s two first courses draw on those earthy, autumnal qualities, and work just as well for a light lunch as they do for a relaxed starter, with plenty of room for manoeuvre depending on how hungry you and your guests are.

Butter bean velouté with mixed mushrooms and pickled onions (pictured top)

Prep 15 min
Pickle 2 hr
Cook 40 min
Serves 4

For the pickled onions
1 small red onion, peeled
300ml cider vinegar
3 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 tbsp salt
6 black peppercorns

For the butter bean velouté
700g jar large butter beans
50g olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper

For the mushrooms
50g oyster mushrooms
50g shiitake mushrooms
50g girolles
Olive oil
20g butter
1 garlic clove, peeled and bashed

To serve
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 pinch espelette pepper
30g curly parsley, chopped
Crispy chilli oil (optional)

Finely slice the onion into rings and put them in a sieve. Put the vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook for a minute, stirring so the salt and sugar dissolve. Take off the heat.

Fill and boil the kettle, then pour the boiling water over the onion rings and leave to drain and cool. Once the onions are cool to the touch, pack the rings into a sterilised 500g jar, then pour over the warm pickling liquor, seal and leave to steep for at least two hours.

Drain the beans, reserving all the jar liquor, and set aside a few whole beans to use as a garnish at the end. Put the rest of the beans in a blender with the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and blitz until completely smooth; you may need to add a splash of water to achieve the smoothest consistency. Add the reserved jar liquor, season to taste and blitz again. The velouté is now ready, to be served at room temperature or gently warmed through.

Wipe all the mushrooms with a damp cloth, then cut into equal-sized slices. Put a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan on a high heat, then add all the mushrooms and, after a couple of minutes, when they begin to crisp and take on a bit of colour, add the butter and garlic, and season to taste. Cook for a further couple of minutes, until the mushrooms are browned, then lift them out of the pan and spread out on a plate lined with kitchen paper, to soak up any excess water. Discard the garlic.

Now to finish the dish. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 oven for 12 minutes, then remove and season immediately with salt and espelette pepper. Divide the cooked mushrooms and reserved whole butter beans between four soup bowls. Pour the velouté à table for a dash of wow factor, then serve topped with some pickled onions, toasted seeds and parsley. If you like, finish with a drizzle of extra olive oil or, my favourite, crispy chilli oil.

Squid with padrón peppers and toasted almonds

Emily Roux’s squid with padron peppers and toasted almonds.

You’ll need to give the squid at least eight hours so the marinade can work its magic.

Prep 10 min
Marinate 8 hr+
Cook 25 min
Serves 4

For the squid and peppers
500g cleaned and gutted sustainably-sourced squid
12 padrón peppers
1 red chilli
2 tsp sesame oil
Zest and juice of ½ lime
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
50ml cooking sake

Toast the almonds in a 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 oven for five minutes, or until golden, then tip into a bowl. Put the slices of bread on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and grill, turning once, until crisp and goldenon both sides.

Put a large frying pan on a very high heat, add a drizzle of oil and, once it’s smoking hot, add the squid and pepper mix with all of the marinade. Toss constantly for no longer than a couple of minutes, otherwise the squid will turn chewy, then season to taste and tip out on to a warm plate. Deglaze the pan with the sake, and let the liquid bubble and reduce until it turns saucy.

Spoon the hot squid mixture and all the cooking juices from the pan over the toasts, finish with the toasted flaked almonds, lemon zest and coriander, and serve hot.

• Emily Roux is chef/co-owner of Caractère, London W11