Portugal, chestnuts, and celebrating traditions that aren't our own

Plus a recipe for roasted squash, chestnut and yoghurt salad

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One of the great things about living abroad is discovering new traditions you had no idea existed, yet are so intrinsically part of your new home.

Here in Portugal, that means festivals like Sao João in June, the night they go nuts with fireworks and sardines cooked over coals on every street corner.

Or the New Years’ Eve tradition of eating rabanada, an eggy, custardy, French toast-like dessert.

And with November comes the Magusto, a celebration of the start of winter. People gather to drink young wine from that year’s harvest (much like Beaujolais Nouveau) and eat roasted chestnuts.

In Portugal, chestnuts are more than just a quick snack, they are practically a way of life. You’ll find huge bags of them in the greengrocers and outside the historic delis. Castanhas assadas — roasted chestnuts — can be found on many street corners with queues of people lining up for their fix.

I’m not averse to buying a dozen and dispatching them before I even get home. They also make an excellent after-bar snack. I know this because one stand was still pumping out chestnuts when I walked by at 1.30 am the other night.

It beats a kebab on many levels.

Whilst you’ll rarely find me in a chunky knit with a pumpkin spice latte, I do like to bust out a pumpkin or butternut squash salad around this time of year. And seeing as it’s Magusto season, it only seemed fitting to include chestnuts in the mix.

This salad makes use of those roasted chestnuts by turning them into a chunky sauce — spiked with garlic and lemon —to drizzle over roasted squash or pumpkin. To keep things fresh, I also make a yoghurt dressing to counterbalance the richness of the chestnuts.

As with most of my recipes, you can make this dish your own by swapping out some elements:

• Use whatever gourd you like / have access to / is in season. I know it seems boring, but I like butternut squash the most.

• Also works with leftovers! If you’ve got leftover sweet potato or squash from Thanksgiving, re-heat them and turn them into this salad.

• If you can’t get hold of roasted chestnuts, swap them for nuts like hazelnut, walnut or almond.

• If you want to roast your own chestnuts, this looks like a good method.

• You can swap the yoghurt for soft cheese like feta, ricotta, or cottage cheese.

• If you’re dairy-free, swap the yoghurt for the non-dairy yoghurt of your choice.

• If you’re gluten-free, omit the croutons.

Warm roast squash salad with chestnuts, yoghurt and croutons

Makes a generous lunch for two