Pumpkin Hummus Grilled Cheese

Turn your pumpkin into a creamy hummus and make a grilled cheese sandwich packed with autumnal flavours. The pumpkin hummus can be made in advance and the grilled cheese cooked in minutes when you're hungry and ready to eat.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Total time: 60 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

For the hummus:

300 g Pumpkins

½ can chickpeas (200 g )

1 tbsp Tahini

2 Garlic cloves

a pinch of Ground cinnamon

a pinch of Ground cumin

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp Water

1 tbsp Lemon juice

Salt & pepper

For the grilled cheese:

4 slice Sourdough bread

125 g Mozzarella (slices) / Vegan cheese

1 tbsp Sage leaves (chopped )

20 g Rocket

4 tbsp Unsalted butter / Vegan butter

For the pumpkin seeds:

1 tsp Vegetable oil

a pinch of Sea salt 

Recipe:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/160 fan/ gas mark 4. Cut the pumpkin in half, then use a spoon to scoop out the strings and seeds. Set the seeds aside, and compost the strings.
  2. Cut 300g pumpkin into pieces, and place in a large, shallow baking dish. Fill up the baking dish with about 1 cm of water, then put in the oven to cook for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin flesh is tender, and the pumpkin skin soft and lightly charred. Once cooked, blend in a food processor until you have a smooth pumpkin puree.
  3. Place the reserved pumpkin seeds in a small saucepan, cover with a little water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then drain well. Place the seeds in a baking tray, drizzle with the vegetable oil, season with salt and roast at 180 C/160 fan/ 4 gas mark, for 5-8 minutes, until crispy.
  4. To make the hummus, add the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, olive oil, water, lemon juice to a food processor along with your pumpkin puree. Blend until the hummus is smooth, then season with salt and pepper. 
  5. Now it's time for the grilled cheese sandwiches. Heat up a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp of butter to melt. Add the sliced bread and cook for a few minutes on each side, until lightly crispy and golden. Turn down the heat, and remove bread from the pan.
  6. One one side of each slice, evenly layer the mozzarella, pumpkin hummus, chopped sage, and rocket and top with the other slices of bread. Melt 2 more tbsp butter in the same frying pan you used earlier, then put the sandwiches in the pan. Cover with a lid (or large baking tray) and cook until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden on both sides (about 3-4 minutes). Cut in half and serve. Enjoy!
grilled cheese in oddbox plate