What to do with a pumpkin....

The time to write is nigh. It's been far too long and too much stuff has gotten in the way of me picking up my pen (or keyboard) and scribbling down any food related thoughts.

The month of October was a dark one, I fell out of love with food, for a while. It was merely fuel to keep my engine running and I didn't want to cook (or eat) it...

But November seems brighter. I've begun cooking again for pleasure and have started to create more seasonal recipes, so all's not lost.

And with that in mind, here's my first post of the month....

How to turn this:


Into this:


And this:


First of all, start by purchasing a pumpkin that's considerably larger than your head... Carefully flip it over and cut off the bottom.

Using a spoon (and lots of elbow grease) remove all the seeds and pith and discard.

Now comes the fun part.... gouge all the flesh from inside the pumpkin, until you're just left with the orange shell.

Once you've recovered from the overexerted use of the spoon, put the flesh in a large roasting dish with a little oil and bake for roughly 30 minutes (until soft).

Carve the pumpkin shell into whatever hideous form you choose to take for the night and let the cooked pumpkin cool....

Once the pumpkin's cooled, blitz it in a blender or food processor and then sieve to get rid of any stringy bits. You'll then be left with a smooth orange pulp. Now it's time to make some pie!

William Peter, Pumpkin Eater Pie

For the pastry:
80g Chopped mixed nuts
350g Plain Flour (plus extra for rolling out)
20g Icing sugar
A pinch of salt
A little cold water
150g Softened butter
2 Large egg yolks

For the filling:
450g Prepared pumpkin pulp
2 Large eggs (plus 1 extra yolk, reserve the white)
1 Tablespoon black treacle
75g Dark soft brown sugar
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 Teaspoon Ground ginger
275ml Double cream

Makes 2x 9" Pies

1. For the pastry, start by sieving the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl.
   
2. Gently rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Then add the nuts, egg and water.
3. Stir these in with a knife, keeping hand contact to a minimum. Add more water if necessary.
4. The dough should have formed into a nice ball by now. Place this into a sandwich bag and pop it in the fridge for about 20 minutes to rest.
5. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4/180 degrees. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and line the two greased tins, making sure to leave about 5mm of extra pastry around the rim to allow for shrinkage.
6. Once the tins are lined, prick the bases with a fork and brush with the reserved egg white.
7. Place the two tins on a flat baking tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until the shells are crisp.
8. For the filling, lightly whisk the eggs (and extra yolk) in a large bowl.
   
9. Put the treacle, sugar, spices and cream into a saucepan and bring up to simmering point, whisking occasionally.
   
10. Then pour in the eggs, whisking lightly before adding the pumpkin puree. Pour this straight into a jug to avoid scrambling the eggs.
11. Once the pastry is baked, distribute the filling between the two cases and return them to the oven for about 20 minutes. You'll know when the pies are cooked, as they'll be puffed up around the edges and slightly wobbly in the middle.
12. Enjoy your pumpkin pie with a nice dollop of clotted cream!

A belated Happy Halloween to all!