Pumpkin, Savory and Sweet

I knew I was going to like this recipe the minute I saw the picture in Ottolenghi's book, Plenty. His "Crusted Pumpkin Wedges with Sour Cream" just caught my eye! It's all about the coating that gets pressed into the pumpkin and then when baked, turns crispy and crunchy!

I had the perfect size pumpkin just waiting for this recipe, it weighed about 1 1/2 lbs. I just cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and sliced it into wedges.

I have to say this would be perfect with really any squash, I normally don't cook with fresh pumpkin that often so I was surprised it tasted just like any other squash, so next time I think I'll do this with acorn squash instead because I think the crusted rings would look beautiful on a platter. As far as the taste goes it's absolutely delicious!

Each wedge gets brushed front and back with olive oil then a mixture of grated parmesan, breadcrumbs, fresh parsley and thyme, lemon zest, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. The mixture gets pressed on both sides of the pumpkin and then baked in the oven. I did mine at 400F until deep golden. You can actually see the recipe as you look inside the book on Amazon here. A perfect side dish for the holidays!

If you're a regular reader of my blog you know I love ricotta, I don't think a week goes by where I don't have some sitting in my fridge, as I write this another pound is in there calling my name, so when I saw Martha's," Pumpkin Ricotta Crostata" in her book, "Pies and Tarts", I knew I'd be making it.

She of course did hers a lot more fancy in a tart pan with pasta frolla dough with a pretty lattice pattern on top with pine nuts. I wasn't that energetic so I used Trader Joe's pie dough and made a free form tart and garnished it with pumpkin seeds because I'm still not buying pine nuts.

This is made with canned pumpkin, ricotta and mascarpone cheese flavored through out with vanilla and the spices in a pumpkin pie. Martha uses just nutmeg but I like all the warm flavors you get in pumpkin pie spice.

The perfect quick dessert with a dollop of whipped cream and a nice cup of coffee!

Here's Martha's recipe

Happy Fall!