This savoury pumpkin pie recipe is a great way to make use of leftovers after carving pumpkins, but you can enjoy this hearty meal long after Halloween is over…
Words, recipe and photo © Mario Matassa
Pumpkins have earned something of a bad rap and I can’t help but consider myself partially to blame.
Ever since the Irish started carving ‘turnips’ (yes, that’s not a typo) into ghoulish faces, and subsequently transporting the tradition with them to America, pumpkins have become globally associated with Halloween – in the same way I suppose turkey is associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The only difference is that turkeys tend to be consumed. Most of those jack-o’-lanterns suffer a less salubrious fate.
Now, having a couple of Irish ancestors in my otherwise Italian closet, I can’t help but feel at least partially responsible for this sad and wasteful state of affairs.
So, I guess in a sense this recipe for me goes some way towards making amends for any damage I (or my ancestors) might have done.
The first misconception that we need to address is the association in the culinary calendar of pumpkins with the autumn.
This is in part due to the timing of Halloween, but also because pumpkins, traditionally, are harvested in mid to late autumn. However, this is not a hard and fast rule, especially given changes in climate over recent years.
Pumpkins should in fact be harvested when their stalks turn hard and woody and before the first hard frosts. This can run any time into early winter, depending on the conditions each year.
Moreover, properly stored, certain pumpkin varieties will easily keep for several months. This is one of the reasons why Italians have such an affinity for this vegetable fruit.
Just as with apples or other late autumnal fruits, pumpkins can be enjoyed well into late winter. For this reason, they are considered something of a winter staple.
Savoury pumpkin and gorgonzola pie | Torta salata zucca e gorgonzola
➤ SERVES: 4
➤ PREPARATION: 15 minutes
➤ COOKING: 45 minutes
Instructions:
- 1 sheet of ready-made pastry
- 500g pumpkin, cleaned and chopped
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 140g grated parmesan or grana
- 120g gorgonzola, cubed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and pepper
Method:
- Cover the prepared pumpkin with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC/Gas Mark 5 for about 40-45 minutes, until soft. You will need about 750g of uncooked pumpkin to realise 500g cooked pumpkin for the pie. Once cooked, uncover and allow to cool.
- Blitz the pumpkin until relatively smooth and then add the eggs and the grated parmesan. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the chopped gorgonzola and season with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat the oven to 170ºC/Gas Mark 3.
- Line a 26cm pie tin with the oastry, using its own ovenproof paper. You can make your own pastry if you are inclined and have the time, of course. Pour the pumpkin mix into the pastry casing and even out with the back of a spoon. If the pastry overlaps the side of the tin, gently fold it in over the top of the mixture.
- Place into the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until crisp and golden. Serve lukewarm or cold.
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