Pumpkin Crepes

This is the reason I bought the mascarpone cheese in the first place.  Putting it in the risotto was an afterthought.

The idea for this dish came from Princess Cruises.  It was the vegetarian entrée on the night that everything looked amazing.  Since none of us was going to order it on the night they had beef Wellington, rack of lamb, and lobster, we made Melody Smurf order them and passed everything around.

The first thing you will notice is that these are not sweet.  We tend to add sugar to anything with the word "pumpkin" in it, but these are savory.

When choosing a pumpkin for eating, don't get one of the big ones with ridges all over it.  Those are the ones you carve up and stick on the porch.  They don't taste very good.  Get the little one marked "sugar" or "pie" pumpkin.  It should weigh no more than five pounds.

I cheated on the crepes this time and bought some.  They were very thin and slightly sweet.  It was ok for the pumpkin's flavor profile, but I wouldn't use them again for anything savory.

1 small pie pumpkin (about 3 lbs)
1/4 C butter
1/4 tsp each nutmeg, cumin, and paprika
8 8" crepes
1/2 C mascarpone cheese
2 Tb milk

1.  Wash skin of pumpkin and cut in half.  Not as easy as it sounds.  Scrape out seeds and strings.  (Keep seeds for making pepitas.)

2.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place pumpkin, cut side down, on a baking rack in a roasting pan.  You may want to line the pan for easy cleaning.  Roast pumpkin in oven for 45 minutes, until soft.  Surprisingly, mine smelled like roasted seasoned potatoes when it was done.  Allow to cool slightly.  Using a spoon, scrape flesh off of skin and place in a bowl.  Mash, either with a fork or a potato masher.

3.  Place pumpkin in a medium saucepan.  Over low heat, add butter and seasonings.  Stir until warmed and creamy.

4.  Beat together mascarpone and milk until smooth enough to drizzle off a spoon.

5.  Lay a crepe on a plate.  Spoon 1/3 C pumpkin mixture in center and spread into a line.  Roll crepe to one side.  Repeat with a second crepe to make one serving.  You should get 8 crepes out of a 3 lb pumpkin.

6.  Drizzle with mascarpone and garnish either with candied walnuts or pepitas.

Difficulty rating  :)