Cheesy pumpkin toasties
- Portion size: Serves 4
- Hands-on time 25 min. Oven time 40 min
- Difficulty: easy
“Somewhere between a croque monsieur and welsh rarebit, this indulgent toastie will warm you up on cold days,” says delicious. food producer Emily. It’s a great way to use up leftover Halloween pumpkin.
This recipe is from Emily’s debut cookbook, Don’t Waste Your Pumpkin (Murdoch Books £8.99).
Liked this dish? Check out our mini pumpkin fondues, which are perfect for Halloween and Bonfire Night.
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Ingredients
- 350g pumpkin, deseeded and cut into wedges
- Vegetable oil to drizzle
- 20g unsalted butter
- 20g plain flour
- 1 tsp English mustard powder
- ½-1 tsp cayenne pepper to taste
- 100ml whole milk
- 100g mature cheddar or comté, coarsely grated
- Dash Worcestershire sauce (or Henderson’s Relish for vegetarians)
- 8 slices bread
- 4 slices ham (optional)
- 250g camembert or brie, sliced
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Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Put the pumpkin wedges on a tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes until tender. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skins, then squeeze the flesh to remove any excess liquid.
- Put the flesh in a blender and whizz until smooth or mash with a potato masher. If the purée is still quite wet (it will depend on the variety of pumpkin you’re using), cook it in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour, mustard powder and cayenne. Cook for a few minutes, stirring the mixture to a paste. Add the milk gradually, stirring well between each addition, until smooth, then stir in the pumpkin purée.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow it to bubble for a few minutes, then stir in the cheddar to melt. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, then add the Worcestershire sauce/ Henderson’s Relish.
- Heat the grill to medium-high. Toast the bread under the grill on both sides. Spread half the cheesy pumpkin mixture onto 4 slices of the toast. Divide the ham (if using) and camembert or brie between the slices, then top each with a second slice of toast. Coat the top with the remaining pumpkin mixture.
- Put the sandwiches back under the grill for 1-2 minutes until golden, bubbling and melted.
Nutrition
- 586kcals Calories
- 35g (23g saturated) Fat
- 29g Protein
- 37g (5.6g sugars) Carbs
- 2.9g Fibre
- 2.4g Salt
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