Pumpkin season
Orange hues and a veggie galette
Tales from an English cottage in Autumn
The cottage this last fortnight has been dominated by happy chaos: rooms filled with furniture, bedding and things we’d forgotten about, as we start work on our guest-room renovations. There’s a pin-stripe bed sitting in the living room, a mattress on the staircase and coat hangers all over the guest bathroom. The carpet goes in this week… then we can organise ourselves a little better again.
Every spare moment we’ve had outside of work has been spent painting the guest-room in a pale, pale blue - with ghost white skirting boards and shelving. Wafts of fresh paint greet us in the morning, as we inspect yesterday evening’s work with new eyes.
Outside, misty mornings have arrived, and with them, soggy grass and sheets that no longer dry on the line. Fires and candles are increasingly lit - for absolutely any excuse now - and many a bubbly bath run. We are embracing the season of cosy.
Pumpkin, red chilli and goat’s cheese galette
Ingredients
300g shortcrust pastry (I swear by the Leiths recipe)
One small/medium pumpkin
One onion
100g goat’s cheese
100g soft cheese
1/2 lemon, juiced
Small red chilli
One egg, beaten
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/170 fan. Cut the pumpkin open and discard the seeds, chop into segments and then into small chunks - about an inch or so in size. Chop the onion and place everything in a roasting tray. Drizzle with oil and season, then roast for 20 minutes or so, until the pumpkin is soft and just starting to colour on the edges, but isn’t charred.
In a bowl, mix the goat’s cheese with the soft cheese, using a fork to break up any chunks, and add the lemon juice. Season to taste. Finely slice the red chilli and set aside.
Roll the pastry out into a rough circle, until it’s about half a centimetre thick. Spoon the goat’s cheese mixture into the middle and spread over the pastry, leaving a border of roughly 2 inches all the way round.
Arrange the pumpkin and onion over the topping, then fold the edges of the pastry in to just cover the pumpkin and cheese mixture. Brush the pastry edge with the beaten egg and transfer the galette to a parchment-lined baking tray, then sprinkle the red chilli on top.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is beautifully-golden and the pumpkin is fully cooked. Enjoy hot or cold!
About this recipe
You can substitute various things into the filling, depending what’s in your fridge. Crème fraîche works really well, feta also. So long as there’s roughly 200g to spread on the pastry, you can’t really go wrong!
Likewise, the pumpkin can be easily substituted for any roast vegetables: courgettes, red onions, tomatoes, root veg… It’s a great way to use up gnobbly carrots and the odd half onion.
Coming next time: the aforementioned guest-room pictures (it’s still a state, but in a fortnight’s time should be in better shape!)
I need a pumpkin recipe to convince my husband he likes pumpkin... maybe I'll try this! Certainly look yummy to me!
Looks so good