Baked Pumpkin with Ground Meat
·Soften the onion
In a little oil, sauté the finely sliced or diced onion until translucent.
Cook the meat
Add the ground meat to the onion, season with salt, pepper and your favourite spices – thyme works particularly well. Cook, stirring, until the meat is tender.
Make the béchamel
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the plain flour and cook briefly – the roux shouldn't brown. Gradually whisk in the milk, then season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. Stir well and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Layer the dish
Line the bottom of a baking dish with pumpkin slices (peel the pumpkin first, unless using Hokkaido, which doesn't need peeling, and cut it into slices about 1–2 cm thick). Season the pumpkin layer lightly with salt. Spread the cooked meat over the pumpkin and pour the béchamel over the top.
Bake
Top with another layer of pumpkin slices and bake in an oven preheated to 200 °C for about 45 minutes.
Tip
If you like, sprinkle grated cheese over the top, but only just before taking it out of the oven, so it melts nicely on the surface.
