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

This veggie dish 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 firmly in my 40s, 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.

The leaves are still green here in Chicago, but fall is in the air. A friend of mine started a new job and was overwhelmed with her weekly CSA delivery from Angelic Organics. I was thrilled to take it off her hands. Now every Tuesday, I grab my box from an Oak Park porch and revel in the colorful fall produce. Last week my bag was filled with the most colorful assortment of deep green acorn squashes and ruby orange pie pumpkins. All those beautiful pumpkins inspired my cooking for the week.

I started by roasting all the pumpkins. It took just a few minutes to halve everything, rub it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and soon the house was filled with delicious smell of roasting veggies. I didn’t even remove the seeds. I left them in the oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit for a little over an hour. Then I scooped out the seeds and dug 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: 6-8

Author: Vanessa Druckman

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Roasted Pumpkin Gratin

This roasted pumpkin gratin shines as a main course with no meat!

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 40 MTotal time: 1 H & 55 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.