PUMPKIN, MUSTARD, CREAM

Soft squash. The warmth of mustard. • You can cook any of the golden-fleshed autumn squashes in the style of fondant potatoes. That is, lightly browned in a little oil or butter, then baked in stock until they become saturated with the liquor, almost glowing. A texture so soft and giving as to be almost like sorbet. Such a recipe takes patience but little hands-on work. • You need to baste the squash with stock once or perhaps twice during its sojourn in the oven. Cooked in this way, pieces of pumpkin make a juicy side dish, but I enjoy them as a course in their own right, with the sauce above, where the cooking juices are bolstered with cream and mustard.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Cut the pumpkin in half and each half into three large wedges. Remove and discard the seeds and fibres. Warm the olive oil in a large, deep-sided roasting tin over a moderate heat. Lightly brown both cut sides of each wedge of pumpkin, turning them over as each one colours using kitchen tongs.

Step 2

Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Lay the wedges of pumpkin on their side then pour over the hot chicken or vegetable stock and seal the roasting tin with kitchen foil. Bake for forty-five minutes, then remove the foil, turn the pieces of pumpkin over and baste them thoroughly with the stock. Return to the oven and continue cooking for a further forty-five minutes. The pumpkin should be translucent, each slice heavy with stock.

Step 3

Carefully lift the pumpkin from the stock and set aside on a warm serving dish. Place the stock over a fierce heat and let it reduce to about 200ml. Pour in the cream, then stir in the two mustards, a little at a time, until you have a warmth you like. Season with salt and black pepper.

Step 4

Spoon the mustard sauce over the slices of pumpkin and serve.