Roasted Pumpkin Gratin

The perfect post-Halloween use of the little pie pumpkins I use as indoor decorations, this roasted pumpkin gratin is flavorful, super rich and cheesy. 

Every year I buy the little mini pumpkins at the supermarket, mostly for a pop of Autumn color in the house but also because we love to eat them. When left whole, the little pumpkins last for ages in a cool house but once Halloween is past, I start thinking about cooking them. 

One of our favorite recipes is luscious creamy coconut curry baked right inside scooped-out pumpkins.  Another is a Thai-inspired pumpkin stir-fry with shrimp.  

And, of course, a third is this roasted pumpkin gratin featuring a French seasonal cheese called Mont D’Or, which is made with unpasteurized cow’s milk. It is produced in the cooler months only and is shaped by circling it with spruce bark. As it ages, it becomes runny and full of flavor. We adore it. 

Roasted Pumpkin Gratin

‘Tis the season but if you can’t find a Mont d’Or cheese, substitute your favorite soft rind cheese like Brie or Camembert, preferably made with unpasteurized milk, if possible. The stronger the flavor, the better is my attitude.

Ingredients 

2 mini pumpkins, about 1 lb or 450g each, seeded and cut in wedges

Olive oil

Fine sea salt

Red pepper flakes

1 Mont d’Or, chilled – weight 8.8 oz or 250g (See note above for substitutes)

Fresh ground black pepper

Cayenne

2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for garnish

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and lightly oil a large iron skillet or another baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil. 

Arrange the pumpkin wedges in your prepared baking vessel. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes.

Roast the pumpkin wedges for 35-40 minutes or until they are fork tender. The skin on the smaller pumpkins is absolutely edible. In fact, it’s my favorite part. 

Slice the chilled cheese and cover the pumpkin with the slices. Add a few generous grinds of black pepper and a sprinkle of cayenne.

Return the pan to the oven and roast for a further 10-15 minutes. 

Take it out briefly to sprinkle on the pepitas and put it back in the oven. 

Roast for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden on top. If you’d like it a bit darker, you can put the oven on broil/grill for a few minutes but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least five minutes before serving or that molten cheese might burn your mouth. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today our group is sharing recipes to trick or treat you for Halloween. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below.

• Sneha's Recipe: Keto Halloween Eggy Spiders
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pumpkin Deviled Eggs
• Food Lust People Love: Roasted Pumpkin Gratin 
• Culinary Cam: Shrunken Head Apple Tart 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Spaghetti & Eyeballs
• Our Good Life: Witches Brew Vodka Cocktail

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Golden Marquis Potatoes

Golden Marquis Potatoes are food fit for royalty. Butter, cream and several rich egg yolks are added to tender mashed potatoes and piped into hollow rosettes, which are then baked till golden. These are the fanciest potatoes that are easy to make.

If you’ve heard of duchess potatoes, same thing, except marquis potatoes are piped with a well in the middle. These are special potatoes for a special occasion! Traditionally, these would be filled with crushed tomatoes but we think potatoes need gravy instead. 

They look fancy, but they are surprisingly easy to make. Just stir egg yolks, butter, cream, plenty of salt and pepper, and a dash of nutmeg into mashed potatoes, then pile the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe it onto a baking sheet in any shape you like. Sprinkle with a little shredded cheese, if desired, bake, and you’ll have an elegant potato side dish for your Thanksgiving meal, Christmas table, or even a weeknight dinner party.

Golden Marquis Potatoes

This recipe is adapted from the fabulous Julia Child’s book, The Way to Cook. You will need a large piping bag and a 1/2-inch star piping tip for this recipe. For the Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy recipe, check out this link. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs or 675g Russet potatoes

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup or 60ml heavy cream, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Line a large baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper or a silicone liner and set aside. This recipe makes about 18-20 marquis potatoes, depending on how big you pipe them.

Peel and wash the potatoes, cut them into 1/2-inch or 1 cm chunks. Steam until tender, about 15 minutes. 

Remove the potato chunks from the heat and use a potato ricer or masher to completely mash the potatoes until they are lump free. A potato ricer is best for this job but if you are diligent about getting all the lumps out, a masher works as well.

 Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.  

While the potatoes are still warm, but not hot, add the yolks in one at a time, mixing well with each addition until the yolk is completely incorporated. Repeat until all the yolks are in. The photo below was yolk number three. 

Add the softened butter, cream, 3/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is homogeneous.

Transfer to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star piping tip and pipe round mounds (2 1/2 inches wide by 2 inches tall) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. My second pan only had eight. 

Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back and continue baking until the tops of the potatoes are light golden brown, about 10 minutes more.

When the marquis potatoes are golden, remove them from the oven and use a flat spatula to transfer them to a serving plate or directly to dinner plates. Fill with your favorite gravy.

As you can see from the photos, I love to serve these with Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy but since Christmas is coming, turkey gravy would go nicely as well. 

Enjoy!

This week our Sunday FunDay bloggers are sharing holiday side dishes your family will love! Many thanks to our host Rebekah of Making Miracles. Check out all of the links below.

• Charred Green Beans with Cranberries and Crisped Onions by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chicken Lapeta by Sneha's Recipe
• Creamed Spinach Gratin by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Festive Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad by Palatable Pastime
• Golden Marquis Potatoes by Food Lust People Love
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cinnamon Butternut Squash by Making Miracles
• Sicilian Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Buttery Pearl Barley Mushroom Pilaf

This buttery pearl barley mushroom pilaf is a wonderful holiday side dish made with garlic, thyme, white wine and Pecorino. This recipe is easily doubled or trebled if you are fortunate enough to have family around this year.

Welcome back to Holiday Side Dish Week! My fellow bloggers and I have a whole new list of tasty recipes for you. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see them all. No more excuses for serving the same old side dishes! And in the case of my recipe today, the same old starches. 

I must confess that three starches - potatoes, rice and pasta – feature regularly on our family menu. And we love them all! Of course, all three can be used in a variety of recipes and cooking methods but they are still, at the end of the day, potatoes, rice and pasta. 

Do you ever get tired of the same old starches: potatoes? I do! That’s why I’m always on the lookout for other starches that can be served instead like bulgur wheat, Israeli couscous, chickpeas, lentils or freekeh, just to name a few. 

I had originally bought the pearl barley for the traditional British beef and barley soup but as I looked at the packet, I thought, hmmm, looks somewhat like risotto rice! And I created this dish instead. 

Buttery Pearl Barley and Mushrooms

This dish is rich and creamy, rather like risotto without the faff of standing and stirring forever. The pearl barley has a similar al dente bite that we love. I hope you’ll give it a try. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 110g dried pearl barley

8.8 oz or 250g small mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup or 60ml dry white wine

3 1/2 oz or 100g Pecorino cheese, finely grated

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

To serve: 

fresh thyme leaves

grated Pecorino cheese

good quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cover the pearl barley with about 1 1/2 cups or 355ml cold water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the fire down and simmer until tender, about 45-50 minutes, checking the water level from time to time and adding more, if needed. 

Clean the mushrooms cut off any hard parts of the stems then slice them. Thinly slice the garlic.

In a small saucepan, fry the mushroom slices in the butter until they release all of their liquid and turn a golden brown.

Add in the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Do not let the garlic burn!

When the garlic is softened, add in the white wine and cook the mushrooms for a few more minutes until the wine evaporates. 

When the pearl barley is just tender, strain it out of the cooking water, saving the water.

Add the barley to the mushroom pan. Stir well. Turn the fire down to a quick simmer. 

Add in about 1/2 cup or 120ml of the cooking water, the grated Pecorino and the fresh thyme leaves.

Add a few generous grinds of black pepper and salt to taste and simmer for just a few more minutes.

To serve, top the pilaf with a few more thyme leaves and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil. Put out the Pecorino in case people want to add a bit more on top. In our family, they always do! 

Enjoy! 

Check out all the lovely holiday side dishes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.

• Air Fried Green Beans with Crispy Onions by West Via Midwest
• Apple and Kohlrabi Slaw by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Bacon by Lemon Blossoms
• Buttery Pearl Barley Mushroom Pilaf by Food Lust People Love
• Cheesy Asparagus Bake by The Fresh Cooky
• Couscous with Cumin and Pine Nuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Cranberry Pecan Cornbread Mini Bites by The Freshman Cook
• Creamed Corn by Savory Experiments
• Creamy Cheesy Brussel Sprouts with Bacon by Blogghetti
• Farro Salad with Apples, Arugula & Feta by Sweet Beginnings
• Lemon and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts by Palatable Pastime
• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole by Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes by Family Around the Table
• Persimmon Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette by The Foodie Affair
• Rice Pilaf with Dried Cranberries and Almonds by An Affair from the Heart
• Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad by Kate's Recipe Box
• Roasted Carrots with Goat Cheese and Pecans by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples by Devour Dinner
• Sausage Stuffing by House of Nash Eats
• Wild Rice and Broccoli Casserole by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Wild Rice and Sprouts Pilaf by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
  
  

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Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles

If you are looking for a wonderful, flavorful side dish for the holidays, try my Brussels sprouts and potatoes with sausage crumbles, that is, a lovely mix of aromatics fried with sausage until crispy and golden.

Welcome to Holiday Side Week, brainchild of Heather from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks, where side dishes are the star of your celebration table! Make sure you scroll down past my recipe to check out all the other wonderful side dishes we are sharing. I’ve always thought that side dishes don’t get enough credit so I am delighted to join the group this year. 

This side dish is one I’ve adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe. I’ve loved him since 2002 and he’s still one of my favorite chefs. Jamie’s done a couple of new series just for the pandemic that haven’t made it across the pond yet so I watch them online and it’s such a joy to see his smiling, encouraging face and easy manner in the kitchen. 

Jamie’s at home, just like the rest of us, cooking for family and making wild substitutions, just like the rest of us when we can’t find our normal ingredients in stock. 

About the humble sprout, he says they tend to work best when totally over-cooked or only just cooked and this recipe gives you the best of both with half of the sprouts cooked till golden and almost crispy and the other half lightly steamed and bright green. 

Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles

Jamie uses a typical British sausage called Cumberland in his dish so I chose a fresh pork sausage in natural casing that has a very similar flavor profile. Use whatever fresh tasty sausage you have available or you can even substitute bacon in a pinch. 

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 medium onion

1-2 rosemary sprigs

1 large clove garlic

1 lb or 450g Brussels sprouts

2 large Russet potatoes (approx. weight 1 lb 10 oz or 750g)

1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

2 quality fresh sausages

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Optional: chopped red chili pepper for heat and garnish

Method

Peel and chop the onion finely. Peel and sliver the garlic. Pull the leaves off of the rosemary sprigs and chop them finely.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. In a bowl, cover the potatoes with cool water so they don’t turn brown. Set the bowl aside. 

Cut and discard the hard stem ends off of your Brussels sprouts. Finely slice half of the sprouts and cut the other half in halves.  

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large lidded pan, then add the onion, fennel seeds and rosemary and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is soft.

Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing and add it to the onion pan. Break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until it is just small bits. 

 Keep frying until the sausage is golden and starting to get crisp. Add in the garlic and fry for just a few minutes more until everything is a luscious crunchy brown. The lighting on my stove is terrible. Apologies. 

Remove the  sausage and seasonings from the pan and set aside. 

Drizzle a little more olive oil into the pan. Drain the cubed potatoes and dry them on a clean kitchen towel. We want them to brown and wet taters will just steam. 

Put the potatoes single file in the pan over a medium high heat and don’t stir until they are golden on the bottom. You can give the pan a shake occasionally. Toss the potatoes and leave them to brown on a second side, turning them with tongs, if need be.

Keep tossing and turning until the potato cubes are golden on all sides. 

Scoot the potatoes to the sides and add the sliced sprouts to the middle with another drizzle of olive oil. 

Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes, without stirring. 

Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, raising the heat a little. You want the sprouts to toast and brown. You can stir them into the potatoes at this point. 

Add a splash of the white balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Now add in the halved Brussels sprouts with a small splash of water. 

Pop the lid on and cook for about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the halved sprouts are just tender. 

Add the sausage crumbles back in.

 Add a final drizzle of white balsamic. Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if necessary. 

Sprinkle with some chopped red chili pepper and serve. 

Enjoy!

Check out all the great holiday side dishes my friends are sharing! There is no excuse this holiday season for boring sides. 

• Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles by House of Nash Eats
• Balsamic Glazed Baby Onions by Savory Experiments
• Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe by The Fresh Cooky
• Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Stuffing by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles by Food Lust People Love
• Cauliflower Gratin by Lemon Blossoms
• Cheese Herb Potato Gratin by Shockingly Delicious
• Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole by Blogghetti
• Cranberry Fluff by An Affair from the Heart
• Easy Chorizo Cornbread Dressing by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries & Pecans by Sweet Beginnings
• Holiday Side Salad by Our Good Life
• Honey Roasted Carrots by Devour Dinner
• No Knead Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Roasted Buttercup Squash by Palatable Pastime
• Roasted fingerling potatoes with Parmesan by The Foodie Affair
• Sauteed Spinach with Bacon by Kate's Recipe Box
• Slow Cooker Cheesy Vegetables by Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans by West Via Midwest
• Sweet Potato Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Traditional Cranberry Sauce by Family Around the Table
• Twiced Baked Sweet Potatoes by Cindy's Recipes and Writings

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