Pumpkin & Baron Bigod Fondue by Joey O’Hare & Katy Taylor

Here’s one of our all time favourite dishes to serve when hosting friends and family. It’s interactive and fun, and exceptionally tasty! Baron Bigod, made by Fen Farm Dairy, is a creamy and flavoursome soft rind cheese made in Suffolk with raw milk from free-ranging Montebeliarde cows. These cows originate from Jura in eastern France, where their rich creamy milk famously makes Comté.

Well – what grows together goes together, as they say, so our wine pairing hails from Jura too… Savagnin! Savagnin is an idigenoius, historic white grape from Jura. It’s a wonderfully old-fashioned tasting wine… citrusy, apple-y and floral, with crisp acidity, and pleasingly rich, even oily in texture which is a very good match – body for body – with this creamy indulgent fondue.

Prep time: 10 mins.

Cooking time: 60-75 mins.

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 small/medium pumpkin – red kuri, onion or kabocha
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 120g baron bigod
• 50g strong cheddar
• 50g berkswell or parmesan
• 1 heaped tbsp corn flour
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 banana shallot, finely diced
• ⅓-½ cup wine
• 80g creme fraiche

To serve:

• 2 bulbs chicory or endive
• charcuterie
• sliced sourdough
• boiled potatoes
• green salad

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cut the ‘hat’ off your pumpkin as if you were carving it for halloween, then scoop out the seeds and stringy bits from its centre. Either discard these, or toss lightly with olive oil and sea salt and roast until crispy to serve alongside your fondue!

Rub the pumpkin very lightly with olive oil, inside and out, then roast in the middle of the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Roast the ‘hat’ too but not on the pumpkin itself. Meanwhile prepare the filling by grating the cheddar, grating the Berkswell or parmesan, and cutting the Baron Bigod into small pieces. Mix your cheese with the cornflour, minced garlic, and very finely diced shallot, then pour over the white wine and creme fraiche and stir well. After 30 minutes remove the pumpkin from the oven and turn the oven up to 200C. Tip the pumpkin upside down for a few minutes to allow any excess water to fall away. Spoon your cheese mix into the cavity then return to the hot oven for a further 30-45 minutes. Again, continue roasting the ‘hat’ but don’t have this sitting on top of the cheese. After 30-45 minutes the top should be golden and gratinated and some cheese filling may have bubbled over the top and caramelised oh so deliciously.

Serve at the table with all the classic accoutrements and don’t forget to eat the roasted pumpkin itself too! Perfect with a chilled glass of Savagnin.