Pumpkin is not a squash that generally excites me. I’d rather have kabocha, or butternut squash over pumpkin any day. But a couple of months ago, Sajjad and I were having dinner with a friend in Milan, and I took a bite of her pumpkin flan and have thought about it every day since. Especially in November, when Instagram was vomiting pumpkin-related content all month long. Our friend very kindly shared a recipe similar to what I tasted at the restaurant, and I thought it would be the perfect addition to the 12 Days of Christmas Series. Here’s the original recipe: Ricetta Flan di zucca - Cucchiaio d'Argento
I haven’t changed anything except serving it with a cheese sauce. You could bake it in even smaller ramekins and serve it as an appetiser, but I think it would be lovely as a main as well — it is rich and flavourful and served alongside a nice salad, it hits all the right notes.
RECIPE: PUMPKIN FLAN
Ingredients
500 g of pumpkin, cut into 2-inch cubes
100 g grated Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of cream
Olive oil (or vegetable oil), as needed
Butter, for greasing the ramekins
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Toss the pumpkin with oil, salt and pepper and roast in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, or until the edges brown, and the flesh is fork-tender.
Allow to cool.
In a blender add the cooled pumpkin with the eggs, cheese, cream, a little salt if you like, and blitz till smooth.
Carefully spoon the mixture into greased ramekins, leaving a little space on top for it to rise.
Place in a preheat oven at 180 Celsius for 30-45 minutes, or until they pull away from the sides.
For the cheese sauce:
100 grams cheese (I used crumbled stilton because I had some left over from the pull-apart bread recipe)
1 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
Salt
Pepper
Heat the oil and butter in a pan. Sauté the onion until soft. Add the green chillies and continue sautéing for 2-3 minutes or until it loses its sharp smell.
Add the flour. And cook until it gives out a nutty flavour (2-3 minutes). Whisk in the milk, making sure there are no lumps. When thick, add the cheese, adjust salt and pepper.