Trick or treat: it’s a Halloween feast
If Halloween parties are an annual ritual in your household, this savoury pumpkin pie will be a hit.
If Halloween parties are an annual ritual in your household, this savoury pumpkin pie will be a hit. Be sure to use a sweet-fleshed pumpkin variety. And if you’ve never tried raw pumpkin through a salad before, you’ll be surprised how much it behaves like carrot – especially when grated and “cured” in a zippy orange dressing.
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Butter and flour a 1.25-litre round pie dish. Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan). Line a baking tray with paper. Toss pumpkin with olive oil and a teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl until well coated. Place slices on prepared baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, toss the sliced leeks and sage in the same bowl, catching the residual oil, salt and pepper from the pumpkin.
Cook butter and bacon in a pan on medium heat, waiting for the bacon to start changing colour, then add the leeks, sage and garlic; sweat together for 10 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Scatter this mix over the prepared pie dish, along with the cheddar and spinach leaves. In the same bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, nutmeg, flour and some salt and pepper, then pour over the top. Arrange the roasted slices of pumpkin overlapping to create a circle. Scatter over the marinated feta. Turn the oven down to 170C (150C fan). Place the pie onto the centre rack and cook for 30-35 minutes or until puffed up and slightly golden on top.
To make the sage and hazelnut burnt butter, heat the butter in a small saucepan and drop in the sage leaves and hazelnuts; shimmy the pan over a medium heat until the leaves are crisp and the butter and hazelnuts nut brown. Pour this mix over the top of the pie, which can be served warm immediately or cold the next day. Serves 6-8
Combine dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Toss pumpkin and currants in the dressing, season with salt and pepper and leave to macerate (soften) for 15-20 minutes. Stir through the parsley just before serving. Serves 4-6 as a side
Top tips
- You can also make the tart gluten-free by substituting gluten-free plain flour for regular, at a 1:1 ratio.
- If you don’t have a pie dish, use a deep ovenproof frying pan
- These recipes work equally well with a butternut squash if you have one handy