Another fantastic centrepiece for a party, a pumpkin filled with Pumpkin Parmesan Dip looks great and is versatile for crackers and veggies alike. You can adjust the amount of parmesan, or even substitute for a cheese you prefer – I can’t imagine there’ll be too much difference to the end result.
My kids are particularly antsy about raw garlic – they can pick it out of anything – so if you prefer, you can saute the garlic for three minutes at 100C. I only do that if I’m making it, especially for my children.
I decided to put the dip into a bowl and hover the bowl inside the mouth of the pumpkin. I don’t know if that’s necessary or if you can just put it in the pumpkin, but I decided it would be easier in this instance to keep cool, and that the pumpkin itself was reusable for a number of days and other recipes if not. Also, if you’re particularly skilled at carving (I’m not!) a fake candle inside, under the dip could look very pretty too.
Pumpkin Parmesan Dip Recipe:
- 1 garlic clove
- 50g parmesan
- 100g cream cheese (I use full fat)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 400 - 500g cooked pumpkin
- Add 1 clove garlic 5 seconds/ speed 5
- Add parmesan 10 seconds/speed 10
- Add cream cheese, paprika, salt and cooked pumpkin 30 seconds/ speed 4
- Scrape down sides 1 minute/ speed 10
- Set aside to firm up again, and serve
- Finely chop the garlic, or crush it and add to a food processor
- Grate parmesan and add to the garlic.
- Add cream cheese, paprika,salt and cooked pumpkin
- Mix following your food processors instructions till it's all well blended and smooth.
- Set aside to firm up again, and serve.
Try these Halloween recipes too!
The cheese biscuits in the images are round versions of these cheese straws.