We have a massive glut of pumpkins… ’tis the season! Actually, I was looking through my instagram account this morning and noticed how beautifully seasonal the pictures look (unintentionally, but glad they do). The food is the colour of autumn, all oranges, deep reds and browns, it’s quite beautiful. I haven’t had the account very long, and I’m wondering if the colours will change with the seasons? It’ll be interesting to see!
So, back to the pumpkin glut… With Halloween lurking, we’ve earmarked enough pumpkins for spooky lanterns, and there’s pumpkin soup of course… and now, following a few experiments and suggestions from my lovely friends there’s Pumpkin & Feta Muffins… So here goes…
Ingredients (makes 12): For the roast pumpkin: 1 lb peeled pumpkin flesh
12 fresh sage leaves
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
For the muffin:
250 wholemeal spelt flour (spelt has a lovely nutty flavour, but wheat is good too)
100g salted butter
150g feta
1 egg
1tsp baking power
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
100mls whole milk ground black pepper handful of pinenuts or pumpkin seeds
Method:
For the roast pumpkin:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C
2. Cut the pumpkin in to bite-sized chunks and spread on a baking tray
3. Drizzle the pumpkin with olive oil, a good pinch of salt, ground black pepper & the chopped sage leaves and shake them up until they’re coated.
4. Roast for 25 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft enough to mash.
For the muffin:
1. Meanwhile melt the butter in a pan on the hob and leave to slightly cool.
2. In a large bowl measure in the spelt flour, baking powder, bicarb and a generous few cracks of black pepper (10-15 turns of the mill).
3. In a jug beat in the egg, milk and melted butter.
4. Mix the wet ingredients in to the dry.
5. Chop the feta in to very small cubes and stir through the mixture.
6. When the pumpkin is soft, mash with a fork turning in the olive oil and sage leaves, but removing any large stalks that would be unpleasant to eat!
7. Stir the mashed pumpkin in to the muffin mixture.
8. Line a 12 case muffin tray with muffin cases and dollop the mixture evenly in to the cases. Sprinkle your seeds on top before baking.
9. Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
The muffins should be nicely risen and slightly brown on top. The seeds will
be roasted. These are a great snack… and really good with a glass of red wine!
I might try these with cheddar next time? Let me know how they are if you make any substitutions!
Happy Halloween everyone!
