3 WAYS WITH PUMPKIN - Roasted pumpkin, a pumpkin, sage, cheddar and pancetta custardy tart and roast pumpkin with candied almonds and chilli

One batch of roasted pumpkin and delicious ways to use it.

Hey all,

Welcome back to The Good Home Cook - and hello to Autumn, my favourite time to be cooking.

One of the first things I treat myself to in Autumn is fat, bulbous Delicia pumpkin. Pumpkin and squash can so often lack flavour and be grainy in texture. But the Delicia pumpkin is something special (more on pumpkin varieties below). It has a thick green skin, bright orange flesh thats silky, sweet and nutty once roasted so look out for those.

I like to play on that sweet creamy profile with salty savoury flavours like the pancetta and mature cheese in my tart and the hot chilli and tangy vinegar, butter dressing with my roasted pumpkin salad.

Two lovely pumpkin recipes for you as well as some do’s, dont’s, general home cooking pumpkin tips plus a quick buying guide!

Enjoy and see you next time!

Esther x

Choosing your pumpkin

• AVOID eating halloween carving pumpkins. Even though they are technically edible, they are not grown for there flavour or texture. Pumped with water and pesticides, they often have barely any favour and the flesh turns mushy and unpleasant once roasted.

• As I said above if you fancy treating yourself I really recommend Delicia pumpkin. They are reasonaably big so you’ll get a couple of meals out of one. Look out for them later in the season as they tend to drop in price a little.

• Any good colourful varieties at farmers markets or green grocers will tend to be tasty. Feel them, if they feel light for their size then they're not the best quality.

• Swap out for squash. Onion squash (see below pic, left hand side) is particularly tasty and actually easier to get hold of these days - find it in Waitrose, Sainsburys and Ocado. It has a nutty flesh and lovely sweetness. If you’re following the roasted pumpkin recipe substitute the pumpkin for 2-3 onions squash as they can be on the small side.

Roasted pumpkin

1 medium Delicia pumpkin or a good quality squash

2 tbsp good olive oil

Flaky sea salt

Heat your oven to 220C/200C fan. Cut your squash in half with your sharpest knife through the stalk. Scoop out the seeds with a dessert spoon and discard. Slice into chunky wedges and sit standing up in rows in a large roasting tin.

Drizzle with oil and roast for 25-30 mins (check after 25) or until a cutlery knife can easily be inserted into the flesh without too much resistance.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Sitting the squash up in rows helps you to get a nice even roast so don’t be tempted to lay them flat and overlap them.

• Add a whole halved garlic bulb to the tin and use the roasted garlic on pumpkin soups, on toast or with my salad (see below)

• Add spices. If you’re eating this as a side dish with roast chicken or lamb add some herbs or spices. Whole sprigs of rosemary or thyme are nice. A tbsp of crushed coriander seeds and Aleppo pepper is lovely for a spiced version, that works particularly well with slow cooked lamb dishes.

• Eat the skin - the better quality the pumpkin the tastier the skin. you can peel it off if you down like the texture though.

OTHER USES

• Scoop the flesh out and blend into an easy soup with roasted garlic, a sweated onion and celery, hot stock and any spices you like. Serve with creme fraiche.

• Serve onto of creamy beans - cannellIni cooked down with sweated shallots, wine and cream is nice. Top with roasted hazelnuts and fried sage.

• Add to grain salads or have in a salad with chunky wedges of gorgonzola or Roquefort, walnuts, radicchio and a punchy vinegary dressing.

• Scoop the flesh out and add to sweet pumpkin pies, fold into cheesecake batter or add to rice pudding or porridge with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Roast pumpkin, buffalo mozzarella, candied almonds and chilli

PREP 10 mins

COOK 30 mins

SERVES 2