Happy first of November y’all! I like this time of year- it’s not “OMG it’s Christmas” spectacular, nor “can’t wait to hit the beach” carefree, yet there’s something about this month, with it’s dark afternoons and first cold blasts, that fills me with a somewhat calm sense of comfort and an ever so slight excitement for the more glamorous month which follows.

I was planning on sharing a pumpkin recipe today as I have more pumpkins that I know what to do with at home right now. I’ve already attacked quite a few of them and used them in savoury and sweet dishes. But, in an interesting twist of events, my friend Teresa showed up on Saturday bearing a huge (and I mean HUGE) bottle full of popcorn for our ladies light. We ate more than I care to admit and the bottle was still half full. So I decided to play around with it a bit and make a savoury variation with parmesan, a pinch of chilli, a touch of lemon zest and a hint of garlic. It turned out so good- buttery and salty, with a slight kick and a refreshing aftertaste. So, a not quite recipe for a not quite glamorous time of the year which we need to celebrate nonetheless. Pop ’till you drop, people. Pop till you drop.

Chilli, lemon zest & parmesan popcorn

INGREDIENTS

5 cups popped corn kernels (I really recommend using Popcorn kitchen’s sea salt & olive oil variety)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes

1/3 cup parmesan, grated

sea salt flakes to taste

METHOD

Place the popped kernels in a large bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat; once the butter is melted, add the garlic clove, slightly up the heat and cook until the clove begins to brown.

Remove the pan from the heat, remove the garlic clove from the pan and add the chilli flakes and lemon zest.

Pour over the popcorn and toss quickly to coat well. Add the parmesan, toss again, taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Serve warm.