Give yourself a pumpkin treat this Halloween with the Dairy Diary

It’s time to get the pumpkins in, Halloween is here and we’ve got two delicious recipes from the Dairy Diary and the Dairy Book of Home Cookery for you to try.

Pumpkin Soup from the deliciously popular Dairy Book of Home Cookery is a must:

Serves 4 / Preparation 10 mins / Cooking 40 mins / Per portion 164 kcals, 9g fat (5.2g saturated)

25g (1oz) butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

350g (12oz) pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped

750ml (11/4 pints) milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

150g (5oz) natural yogurt to serve

Dried pumpkin seeds to garnish, optional

1 Melt butter and gently fry onion and carrot for 5 mins, until softened.

2 Add pumpkin, milk and season to taste then bring gently to boil.

3 Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

4 Liquidise then serve swirled with yogurt and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin Gratin – a tasty treat from the 2012 Dairy Diary.

Serves 4 / Time 50 mins / Calories 334 per portion / fat 24g of which 9.5g is saturated

Pumpkin 1.8kg (4lb), peeled and deseeded

Parmesan Cheese 50g (2oz), grated

Fresh breadcrumbs 50g (2oz)

Pecan nuts 50g (2oz), roughly chopped

Chopped Thyme leaves 2 tbsp

Butter 50g (2oz), melted

1 Preheat oven to 200°C /400°F/Gas 6. Cut pumkin into 2.5cm (1in) thick wedges. Place in a lightly buttered ovenproof dish. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2 Mix together Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, pecans, thyme and saeasoning in a bowl.

3 Sprinkle evenly over pumpkin. Then drizzle over melted butter.

4 Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes, until pumpkin is tender and topping is golden. Serve immediately.

TIP Rather than Parmesan cheese crumble over some strong blue cheese – if you prefer.

If you like the sound of these recipes and want to see more, The Dairy Book of Home Cookery is available for just £10.49 (plus £2.50 P&P per order) and offers everything from soups to sauces, dips to desserts, pastry to pickles, curries to cakes. It’s an essential book that offers something for every kitchen and cook, giving you recipes that you know will always work. The Dairy Diary is just £6.99 or as a gift set for only £8.99, (including a pocket diary, pen, pad and post-it notes.) – the idea Christmas stocking filler! (watch out for our review coming soon) 

To find out more about these products, or to order a copy, visit www.dairydiary.co.uk or call 0845 0948 128. All of the Dairy Diary products are also available to buy directly from your milkman, without any postage fees. If you don’t already have a milkman, you can find your nearest by visiting www.findmeamilkman.net