Pumpkin and Gnocchi Gratin

Around eight million pumpkins are expected to be thrown away in the UK after Halloween this year - and according to this Guardian article, only a third of consumers will cook and eat any of them.

I didn't get around to carving a pumpkin this year but did buy two, for some photos with my little girl!

I then made use of them in various ways - soup, pie, and this pumpkin and gnocchi gratin. The recipe is from an old issue of Weightwatchers magazine; but I added bacon lardons as well (if you want it without, this makes a nice vegetarian dish). I also used more cheese and allowed more gnocchi per person.
This is really tasty - I'm not a huge fan of gnocchi as it's very doughy and needs more than just a tomato sauce, but it works wonderfully in this recipe - you could also substitute the pumpkin for butternut squash.

Serves 4
400g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
4 tbsp. chopped fresh sage - I used 4 tsp dried sage to keep the cost down
200g bacon lardons
low fat cooking spray (or oil if you are not following Weightwatchers)
500g gnocchi
250g tomato passata
5 tbsp. grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with foil and spray with non stick spray or pour in a little oil. Roast the pumpkin, garlic, onion and sage, and sprinkle over some salt and pepper then toss in the oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin has softened.

Meanwhile fry the bacon lardons in a frying pan.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water according to the pack instructions - it only takes a few minutes.

Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and mash with a fork, discarding the skin. In a large ovenproof dish mix the garlic, pumpkin and onion, bacon lardons, gnocchi, then pour over the passata and gently mix in. Finally sprinkle over the cheese.

 

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes; serve with a green veg like broccoli or a salad and garlic bread.

A lovely winter warmer, and a good way to use up pumpkin so it isn't wasted.

 

 And here's my little pumpkin herself!

 

I'm sharing this with Cook Blog Share, hosted by Easy Peasy Foodie.

Cheesy Cod Gratin with Crushed Potatoes

White fish can sometimes seem a little boring - much as I love it, when cooked at home I think fish like cod and plaice needs a flavoured sauce, or a coating, or herbs - something to liven it up really. These cod gratins aren't the most healthy, as they do use cheese and cream, but they are perfect for a dinner party. You could make one big dish but I like these individual portions.

The recipe is inspired by one for individual cod gratins from Leith's Easy Dinner Parties. To serve two, you need:

2 pieces cod fillet

20g butter

1 leek, sliced

80ml dry white wine

150ml fish stock

50ml double cream

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

2 tsp chopped parsley or dill

70g grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 180C. Put the wine and stock in a small pan and bring to the boil and simmer until reduced by half. Add the cream and mustard and remove from the heat.

Cut the fish into cubes. In another pan, melt the butter and sweat the sliced leeks for a few minutes then mix the fish, leeks and creamy sauce in individual gratin dishes.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

I served these with crushed potatoes - parboil some new potatoes and crush with the back of a fork so they still retain their shape but are squashed and split open. Spray with Fry Light or drizzle with oil and bake in the oven for about half an hour.

The potatoes went really well with the finished cod gratins, which tasted delicious. I'm not normally a fan of leeks but these were lovely.

As leeks are in season, I'm sending this to Simple and In Season, hosted by Ren Behan.

The theme for this month's Four Seasons Food is "something fishy", so I'm sending this to Louisa at Eat Your Veg and Anneli at Delicieux.