GREGG WALLACE!’s Pumpkin Fondue

It’s a Hallowe’en tradition at Yumblog Cottage to celebrate the 31st October with this pumpkin fondue devised by the mighty GREGG WALLACE! himself. I say tradition, we made it for the first time last year, however, it is so tasty I am sure we’ll tucking into it again in 2009*

Phwaaaar!

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1.5-2 hours
Skill level: easy

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin – 1-1.2 kg
• emmental – 140g – grated
• gruyère – 140g – grated
• 1 garlic clove – crushed
• plain flour – 1 tbsp
• white wine – 175 ml
• lemon juice – 1 tsp
• kirsch (optional) – 1 tbsp
• nutmeg – ½ level tsp
• s & p

Preheat the oven to 170C (gas mark 3)

Cut the top off your pumpkin (so that it can be put on again) and remove all the seeds and fibrous bits.

Put the cheeses, flour and wine in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently heat until the cheese has melted.

Add the lemon juice, kirsch, garlic and nutmeg and stir to a smooth sauce. Season to taste.

Pour the sauce into the pumpkin and replace the top. Place on a baking tray (the fondue may spill over slightly) and bake in the oven for one and a half hours.

Serve with a good bread of your choice – GREGG suggests a dark rye bread, we had some homemade baguettes.

* Assuming of course we haven’t yet descended into a ‘Children of Men’ style dystopian madness.

Verdict: Well it’s cheese melted in wine so it can’t help but be delicious and comforting. The fondue is rich and flavoursome and the pumpkin soft and easily spooned away from the sides.

Drink: A pair of interesting lagers and the rest of the white wine used in the fondue.

Entertainment: Our current DVD viewing consists of alternating between series three of ‘Blake’s 7’ and series one of ‘Between the Lines’. In the former, Blake has gone missing/left the series to do serious drama, and the crew of The Liberator are joined by semi-clad weapons expert Dayna Mellanby and curly-permed posh-boy mercenary Del Tarrant. In the latter Neil Pearson shags and smokes his way through every scene and ends each day with a bottle of Scotch. It all looks more dated than its 13 years, but is still worth a viewing. Best line so far, referring to someone who is very pleased with himself, “He thinks he has a solar ringpiece”.