Smokey Halloween Pumpkin with Rock Chives

Koppert Cress

Koppert Cress

Standard Supplier 25th October 2019
Koppert Cress

Koppert Cress

Standard Supplier

Smokey Halloween Pumpkin with Rock Chives

It doesn't always have to be serious!

Ingredients

  • 1 small pumpkin (approx. 1 kg)
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 100g curly kale
  • 8 punnets Rock Chives
  • Mayonnaise Ingredients
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 300 ml grapeseed oil
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Pickling Liquor Ingredients
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1.5 cups water
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 small stick cinnamon
  • 1-star anise
  • 1 tsp brown mustard seeds

Method

Start by peeling the pumpkin and dehydrating the reserved skin. Add two cut punnets of rock chives to the dehydrator at the same time.
Cut the pumpkin in half across its equator, scoop out the seeds and deshell - (Wash the seeds, lay flat on workbench and roll over with rolling pin to crack exterior shell. Boil for approximately 5 minutes until shells pop off, leaving soft green pumpkin seeds). Toast the seeds and reserve for plating.
Blend together five punnets of rock chives with the 250ml of grapeseed oil, the oil must become warm. Strain through a coffee filter reserving the pulp & oil.
Use about 125ml of the oil to make a Rock Chive emulsion using the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, Rock Chive pulp & lemon juice. Reserve the rest of the oil for plating.
Carve pumpkin face in chosen design and brush all over with Rock Chive oil.
Wrap in foil and bake at 160C until tender but not collapsing, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes.
Put half of the remaining pumpkin into a smoker or cook indirectly on a barbecue and leave until cooked and soft, ready for pureeing. Whilst blending, add cold cubes of butter until desired consistency is achieved together with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Use the remaining pumpkin to cut in to small / medium dice, and some in to julienne.
Combine each of the pickling liquor ingredients together and bring to the boil, pour over the pumpkin pieces, cover and leave to pickle & infuse.
Cut the kale in to pieces and coat with rock chive oil & season. Bake in the oven at 160C for about 10 minutes until crispy.
Crumble half of the dehydrated Rock Chives over the kale to add another layer of seasoning.
Blitz the dehydrated pumpkin skin and use to coat the outside of the pumpkin face.
Use each of the components to create a crazy Halloween plate for your guests.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.