Roasted Pumpkin Gratin: a Veggie Dish that Shines as a Main Course

When I was in my 20s and really beginning to cook for myself, vegetarian meals felt incomplete. I needed a nice steak or a caramelized piece of fish to truly feel full. Now that I'm rocking my (early!) 50s, I crave vegetables with a growing passion. A dinner of two or even three vegetable dishes leaves me feeling happy and energized. But my family... not so much. So when I come up with a vegetable dish that excites more than just me, I have to write it down, share it, and shout it from the rooftops.

I love the riot of color of fall. The leaves in the River Forest trees and the wild assortment of squashes, pumpkins and gourds at the supermarket. All those beautiful pumpkins inspire my cooking for the week.

Start by roasting all the pumpkins. It takes just a few minutes to halve everything, rub it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and soon your house will be filled with delicious smell of roasting veggies. I don’t even remove the seeds. Leave them in the oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit for a little over an hour. Then scoop out the seeds and dig out the roasted flesh with a spoon to yield four cups of delicious roasted pumpkin to cook for the week.

In addition to a big batch of pumpkin soup - seasoned with a little ginger and curry, I made a gorgeous pumpkin gratin. Once the pumpkins were roasted, it took five minutes to throw together, and was the kind of veggie dish that can be a main course for all. Serve it with a nice bright arugula salad, maybe dressed up with some slices of golden citrus, and you'll be ready to take over the world!

Yield: 8

Author: Vanessa Druckman

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Roasted Pumpkin Gratin

An easy to make yet rich and delicious pumpkin gratin recipe.

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 40 M

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 acorn squash, halved
• 1 pie pumpkin, halved
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cups swiss cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Halve your squash and pumpkin. Rub the cut surface with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You don't have to use both squash and pumpkin but I like to mix up the tastes to add different flavor notes.
2. Roast in oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit for an hour. Let cool.
3. With a spoon, dig out the seeds and discard. Then remove the rest of the roasted pumpkin and squash flesh and place in a blender. Add 1/2 cups of Swiss cheese, heavy cream, eggs, and a little more salt and pepper. Puree. Pour into a buttered baking dish.
4. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cups of Swiss cheese on top as well as the full 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve warm.