Pumpkin and potato bake with no béchamel and a crunchy crust
A pumpkin and potato bake bound with eggs and parmesan instead of béchamel, finished with a crust of breadcrumbs and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Are you looking for a pumpkin and potato bake that tastes rich and holds together, without making a béchamel first?
Then this version is for you. I will walk you through binding pumpkin and potato with nothing but eggs and parmesan, and building the breadcrumb and pumpkin seed crust that makes the dish far more interesting than a baked mash.
The step that decides everything is how you cook the pumpkin. Roasted, it loses water and concentrates its sugars; boiled, it soaks up liquid and carries that moisture into the mixture, which then never really sets. It is the same reason the potatoes are boiled in their skins.
There are at least three good reasons to make it: five basic ingredients, it can be assembled the day before, and it goes straight to the table in its dish, either as a side or as a vegetarian main with a salad.
For a richer version, fold a few cubes of smoked provola or a spoonful of ricotta into the mixture. And if you have pumpkin seeds to hand, toast them in a dry pan for a few minutes first: the aroma changes completely.
Serve it warm, once it has settled and cuts into clean squares. It keeps for two days in the fridge and a few minutes in the oven brings the crust back.
Ready? Let’s get started with the pumpkin and potato bake.
Steps
- Cut the pumpkin into cubes, toss with a tablespoon of oil, salt and the chopped sage, and roast at 200°C (400°F) for 25 minutes. Roasting rather than boiling concentrates the flavour and keeps the bake from turning watery.
- Meanwhile boil the potatoes whole in their skins for 30 minutes, until a knife slides in without resistance, then peel them while still hot.
- Mash the potatoes and pumpkin together with a ricer or a fork, leaving a few whole pieces for texture.
- Stir in the beaten eggs, the parmesan, the milk, a generous grating of nutmeg, salt and pepper, until you have a thick, even mixture. No béchamel is needed: eggs and parmesan bind everything.
- Pour the mixture into an oiled dish, level it with the back of a spoon and keep it under three centimetres deep, so it cooks evenly.
- Mix the breadcrumbs with the pumpkin seeds and a tablespoon of oil, scatter over the surface and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 45 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden and crunchy.
- Rest for at least 15 minutes before serving: piping hot it crumbles, warm it cuts into clean squares.
Helpful tips
The pumpkin must be roasted, never boiled: that is the only way to avoid a loose, watery mixture.
If the mixture feels soft, add two tablespoons of breadcrumbs and let it stand for 10 minutes before baking.
The pumpkin seeds give the crunch that most vegetable bakes lack: chopped hazelnuts work just as well.
Make it the day before and reheat in the oven: it firms up even further.
Average nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 32.0 g
- Sugars
- 7.0 g
- Protein
- 12.0 g
- Fat
- 12.0 g
- Saturated fat
- 5.0 g
- Fiber
- 4.0 g
- Sodium
- 430 mg
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