Temperatures are dropping. Trees are slowly turning orange, red and brown. And pumpkins and other types of squash are appearing everywhere – it’s autumn (and spooky season)!
It’s also finally cool enough – even here in Greece – to be using my stove and oven again for any time longer than the few minutes the scorching hot summer allows me to endure… which means it’s time for soups, stews and casseroles (the best time. my favourite time.)!

I love pumpkins. Not only are these orange round boys great for carving spooky faces into for Halloween, they are also, of course, very tasty and I actually prefer to eat them rather than use them as decoration only. This simple gratin here is made with pumpkin (or any other type of sweet, firm squash), double cream, cheese and a sprinkling of crunchy, nutty pumpkin seeds. It’s both sweet and salty, creamy and slightly nutty and it makes for a great side dish. Honestly? I’d probably eat it as a main with some salad as well – I think it’s the perfect dish for autumn.

Note: I’ve used a mixture of cheeses for my gratin, but you can use whichever melty cheese is your favourite, of course. A handful of breadcrumbs can also be used as a crispy topping instead of (or together with) the pumpkin seeds.

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Pumpkin Gratin

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• V
• GF

Autumnal cozy pumpkin gratin with cream, cheese and pumpkin seeds

• Difficulty:Easy
• Prep Time:20 mins
• Cook Time:75 mins
• Serves:6
• Freezable:No

Nutrition per portion

Ingredients

• 1.5kg pumpkin, or butternut squash
• knob of butter
• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• few sprigs of fresh thyme, stems removed
• few gratings of nutmeg
• 450ml double cream
• salt, to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 125g Gruyere, or Emmental, grated
• 125g sharp cheddar, grated
• 2 - 3 tablespoons shelled pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Peel the pumpkin, or squash and cut into 3cm cubes. Peel the onion and finely mince it and do the same with the garlic.
3. Add the pumpkin pieces to an ovenproof dish and place in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes. This step should allow some of the moisture of the pumpkin to evaporate, so it doesn’t seep into the cream too much later, which could make it split.
4. In the meantime, in a frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. When the pan is hot, add the minced onion and garlic, thyme and nutmeg and sauté until onion starts to brown. Finally, pour in the cream and stir. Allow to heat through, then remove from heat.
5. Pour the cream ‘sauce’ over the pumpkin pieces in the oven dish and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir a bit to combine.
6. Carefully (the dish is hot!) cover dish with aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
7. Uncover the dish and sprinkle on cheeses and pumpkin seeds.
8. Return the dish to the oven and bake uncovered for another 20 - 25 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender and the cheese is golden.
9. Allow to ‘cool’ and ‘set’ slightly for 10 minutes before serving.