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Pumpkin with Shropshire blue custard

Name: Roast pumpkin with blue cheese recipe
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 (3kg total) small butternut pumpkins, halved lengthways, seeds removed; 80ml olive oil; 60g cold unsalted butter, chopped; 12 large sage leaves; 150g Shropshire blue cheese (substitute any other firm blue cheese); 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature; 2 tsp leatherwood honey (substitute a strong floral honey of your choice); 150ml thickened cream

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Jump to recipe

by Paul Farag

CHEF

Dec 05, 2023

“Pumpkin and blue cheese is like pork and apple to me – it’s a match made in heaven! I like to keep this simple. It’s all about the decadence of the custard and the soft pumpkin. I prefer to use butternut pumpkin, as it’s not overly wet when roasted and the skin is delicious, but you could use any pumpkin of your choice. If you wanted to, you could add roasted hazelnut and a dried fruit of your choice, but that could be the Egyptian in me.” – Paul Farag.

2 (3kg total) small butternut pumpkins, halved lengthways, seeds removed
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
60g cold unsalted butter, chopped
12 large sage leaves

Shropshire blue custard

150g Shropshire blue cheese (substitute any other firm blue cheese)
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tsp leatherwood honey (substitute a strong floral honey of your choice)
150ml thickened cream

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2.

Place pumpkin cut-side up on prepared tray, rub all over with oil and season with salt flakes. Roast for 40 minutes or until just soft when pierced with a skewer. Use a spoon to create a slightly larger cavity in each pumpkin from where the seeds were removed. Set aside to cool on tray.
3.

Reduce oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. For the custard, place cheese, yolks and honey in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Add cream and pulse a few times until just combined (if you whiz for too long the cream will thicken too much). Strain through a fine sieve set over a jug. Pour custard into the cavities of each pumpkin (see note). Bake for 30 minutes or until custard is golden (cover loosely with foil if custard is over-browning) and just set (it should still have a very slight jiggle).
4.

Rest on tray for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large frypan over high heat. Add sage and cook for 2-3 minutes until leaves are crisp and butter starts to brown. Remove leaves and set aside on paper towel to drain. Reserve browned butter.
5.

Transfer pumpkin to a serving plate, top with crispy sage leaves and serve drizzled with a little brown butter.

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Recipe Notes

Depending on the size of your pumpkins, you may have some leftover custard. Pour it into a small ovenproof dish and bake in a water bath alongside the pumpkins and serve alongside.