Fred’s pumpkin galette with blue cheese and thyme

1.Preheat oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Drizzle pumpkin with oil, season, place flesh-side down on tray and roast until an inserted skewer meets no resistance (1-1¼ hours). Cool completely (2-3 hours), then scoop flesh from skin, place in a sieve and press gently to remove as much liquid as possible. Season to taste.

2.Meanwhile, for crunch dough, mix flour and 2 tsp salt in a large bowl, then cut butter into flour with a pastry cutter until butter pieces are about 1cm. Press butter and flour together firmly and rub lightly between the palms of your hands to form thin strips of butter. Add 110 ml iced water and work into dough with a spatula until it just comes together, adding a little more water if necessary. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (1 hour).

3.Meanwhile, combine onion, butter and half the thyme in a frying pan, season to taste, and sauté gently over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent without colouring (8-10 minutes). Cool completely (20-30 minutes).

4.Heat a large pizza stone (about 35cm in diameter) or a large flat heavy baking tray in oven at 200C. Remove dough from refrigerator about 30 minutes before using to soften slightly, then roll between large floured sheets of baking paper to a round of about 45cm diameter. Remove top sheet of baking paper, dust with 2 tsp flour, add pumpkin and spread to about 5cm from edges. Dot with onion and remaining thyme and season to taste. Fold in pastry edges and brush pastry with beaten egg. Slide galette on baking paper onto hot pizza stone or tray, reduce oven to 180C and bake until golden brown (45-50 minutes), dotting with cheese in the final 5 minutes. Scatter with thyme, drizzle with olive oil and serve with a green salad or cut into small pieces to serve as canapés.