AUTUMN WINE AND FOOD

Receipts

Pumpkin pleasures

Jennifer Paterson

On the coast of Coromandel Where the early pumpkins blow, In the middle of the woods, Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-136.

Ican't remember if the Yonghy-Bonghy- BO made any use of the pumpkins, but I have been to pumpkin heaven in a little vil- lage past Arundel called Slindon where they grow an incredible variety of squashes and pumpkins. Pile upon pile of them, gleaming yellows, oranges, greens and cream — a wonderful sight to be seen. Hal- lowe'en is past, but maybe you have some bits of pumpkin lying around the house, and there are certainly plenty in the mar- ket. I tasted a very delicious pumpkin soup last week at the Aubergine restaurant in Park Walk. The chef wasn't giving anything away, but here is a good hearty version.

Pumpkin soup

1 lb peeled and seeded pumpkin 3/4 lb potatoes

10 spring onions 2 pints some good stock

114 pint single cream

2 oz butter

1 tin (14 oz) chopped tomatoes

salt and pepper a handful of chopped parsley

Cut the pumpkin into small dice and chop the spring onions, using only the white PM. Melt the butter in a large soup saucepan, add the pumpkin and the onions and sweat over a low heat for about 5 min- utes. Meanwhile, peel and slice the pota- toes, add them to the pan and cook for a further few minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and the stock, mix, then season to taste with the salt and freshly ground black pep- per. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer very gently for 1 hour. Remove from the heat, and cool slightly before liq- uidising in a blender of some sort, or pass it through a sieve. Return the soup to the rinsed-out pan, stir in the cream and adjust the seasoning. Reheat the soup and sprin- kle in the parsley before serving. Put a bowl of fried croutons on the table to add at will. The soup is a marvellous colour and, if wished, can be served chilled with a blob of sour cream and chopped chives to enhance It. This amount is ample for ten people. Alexandre Dumas 'The Elder', one of the three Dumas, co-author of Grand Diction- naire de Cuisine, has a very good receipt for a savoury pumpkin.

Potiron a la Parmesan (Pumpkin with Parmesan cheese)

3 lb of pumpkin clarified butter

salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Peel the section or whole pumpkin and remove the seeds and the pith surrounding them. (The seeds can be dried, roasted and salted to eat like peanuts.) Cut the flesh into square pieces and parboil them in salt- ed water. Do not cook them completely or they will disintegrate. About 10 minutes should do it. Drain well.

Melt about 3 oz of the butter in a large frying pan and fry the pumpkin on both sides, seasoning them with salt, freshly grat- ed nutmeg, cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Fry for 5 minutes, then pour them into a well buttered gratin dish. Cover with 2-3 oz of Parmesan and dot with dabs of butter. Bake in a fairly hot oven, Gas 6, 400F, 200C, until the cheese is nicely golden brown on top.

I don't like pumpkin puddings, but you may. Try this one.

Pumpkin cheesecake

Wrap a large slice of pumpkin (11/2 lbs) in foil and bake in the oven at Gas 5, 375F, 190C, for 1 hour. Scrape away the seeds and pith, then peel it. Purée through a sieve or processor. Weigh out 16 oz for use.

For the base, you need:

2 oz softened butter 1 egg

2'h sugar

5 oz plain flour

Cream together the butter and the sugar, beat in the egg, add flour and mix well. Roll out the dough on a piece of floured grease- proof paper and use it to line the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a 9in-spring- form tin. Bake in a preheated oven, Gas 6, 400F, 200C, for 5 minutes.

For the filling, combine 1 lb of Philadel- phia cream cheese at room temperature with 6 oz of castor sugar until well blended. Mix in the 1 lb of pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, '/4 teaspoon of ground ginger and a good pinch of salt. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Pour the filling into the tin. Bake in the oven at Gas 4, 350F, 180C, for 50 minutes. Allow to cool for an hour before removing from the oven. Loosen rim of the tin, cool, then chill the cheesecake but do not remove the rim until just before serving. Decorate with whipped cream and marzi- pan fruits, if you like.