Pumpkin quiche with blue cheese & thyme

Pssst... don't tell anyone I am sneakily taking out a moment to hide in the living room and write a quick post! My parents are visiting at the moment, so I don't get much time to do anything, let along blog.
For all of you who are busy carving their pumpkins for Tuesday's Halloween Madness, here's another idea for getting rid of all those leftovers. A creamy quiche with fresh herbs and some pungent gorgonzola cheese... really quick to make and so satisfying!
If you want more ideas, maybe try some older recipes like:
Pumpkin & Gorgonzola pizza
Squash bites with pumpkin seed pesto
Orange-scented pumpkin soup

Have fun carving!

Pumpkin quiche with blue cheese and thyme
(serves 4 to 6)

375 g shortcrust pastry (ready-rolled)
500 g meat of pumpkin or butternut squash
200 ml milk
4 eggs
200 g single cream
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
nutmeg, salt, pepper
100 g blue cheese (I used Fourme d'Ambert, which is firm, but creamy)

Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
Cut the pumpkin/squash meat into bite-size chunks and spread on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Sprinkle with salt, then transfer to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, line a quiche dish or spring-form mould with the shortcrust pastry (if using store-bought, like me, it is not necessary to grease the dish beforehand, as the pastry contains enough fat for it to release easily once baked), then pierce pastry with a fork all over.
Blind bake the pastry: line the pastry with grease-proof paper, fill with baking beans (or any pulses you have to hand - alternatively you can use a similar, smaller mould which will fit snugly into your dish).
Once the pumpkin/squash is ready, remove from the oven, keep door open for 5 minutes to release the steam that has formed from the vegetables, then put in the quiche dish and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the lining and pulses/baking beans, then bake for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the pumpkin/squash meat with the milk in a blender, then beat the eggs and cream and fold in the vegetable purée. Stir in the thyme leaves, then season generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg to your liking.
Pour into the pastry case, spread with the diced blue cheese (pushing the cheese in if you wish, as some will float depending on their density), then bake the quiche in the oven for about 45 minutes until set. When the pumpkin mix is starting to brown, cover with some alu-foil or grease-proof paper to prevent it from burning.
Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a crisp salad on the side.

Comments

[Pille]

Johanna, this looks gorgeous! I saw some lovely pumpkins at the market on Sunday, but didn't buy any. I'll try to pop by tomorrow, as your pumpkine pie looks too good to miss!

[Alanna]

Savory pumpkin, love this ... and guess who just happens to have a pumkin waiting for attention.

[Lil]

what a great idea! i've never thought of pumpkin as quiche ingredient before... must give it a try - maybe tomorrow, since i have friends over for dinner... ;)

happy halloween!

[Betty C.]

This will be a change from my usual pumpkin soup! Looks delish...

[Pille]

Johanna - I tried this quiche yesterday and it was simply wonderful! Thanks for the great recipe!

[Catherine]

wow! this looks phenomenal! I must try this! thanks for the recipes.

[Jacqui]

can you freeze this quiche?