August
winds are cold in Australia, but Pumpkins (squash) are plentiful and cheap. Like
these ones bought off the back of a truck at the farm gate. 
Try these cute little pumpkin tartlets for a warm winter lunch. The orange colour of the pumpkin is warm and the roasted nuts add rustic texture. You could even take them on a picnic.
Pumpkin and Macadamia Tartlets
4 cups pumpkin (squash), cut into 1 or 2cm cubes
1 tablespoon macadamia or olive oil
250g ( 8 oz ) ricotta
200g ( 7 oz ) frozen spinach, defrosted 60g ( 2 oz ) cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg
½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
1.
Preheat oven to 180°C ( 350°F ) . Grease the cups of a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. Toss the pumpkin in the olive oil. Season with
salt and place in a baking tray. Bake for 20- 30 minutes or until cooked
through. Turn oven up to 200°C ( 390°F ).
3. Cut each pastry sheet into 4 squares. Push into
the 12 muffin cups leaving the corners opening out like the petals of a flower.
4.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, spinach, egg and
cheddar cheese. Season. Divide between
the 12 pastry cups. Top with the pumpkin cubes and sprinkle with the nuts. Bake for
20 minutes, or until pastry is cooked. Remove from oven and eat warm.
 |
| A trolley of pumpkins outside a corner store |
Variation: Use sweet potato instead of pumpkin if preferred.
Other suggestions for pumpkins and macadamias are to:
- add macadamias to pumpkin soup to thicken it and add subtle flavour, use a soup wand or food processor to blend them with the soup
- simply add roughly chopped macadamias to the pan when roasting pumpkins, for added crunch and flavour. For even more healthy natural flavour, mix some crushed garlic with macadamia nut oil, add 2 teaspoons each of seasame seeds, sunflower kernals, pepitas, dried oregano and ¼ cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts. Be sure to use macadamia oil for roasting vegetables.
