These adorable pumpkins (potirons) are all over the market these days. Last week I bought a larger one and stuffed it with baguette, bacon, gruyère and emmenthal cheese, some crème fraiche, and sautéed onion. It was to die for.  This week I bought two little guys and set out to figure out what to do with them. Just roasting and then turning into soup was tempting, but I wanted something a little more substantial.  After nosing around a few French recipe sites, I found some inspiration and settled on a Pumpkin & Onion Tarte.

I started by peeling my little pumpkin and then cutting it into largish sized chunks.  I put them in a pan with a bit of water and boiled until they were soft and mashable.

I chopped up a medium sized onion and grated a large potato.  I put a little olive oil in a skillet and started to sautée the onion.  After a couple minutes, I added in the grated potato.  I also threw in a few sprinkles of herbes de Provence.

When the pumpkin was soft, I drained off the remaining water and mashed it with a potato masher. I added the mashed pumpkin to the skillet of onion and potato and mixed well.

  I pulled it off the heat to let it cool. Once cool, I added in a big handful of grated gruyère, 3 beaten eggs, and a couple of heaping tablespoons of crème fraiche.

 
I mixed everything well. I took one of those lovely pre-made French crusts (why, oh why, do we not have these crusts back in the States?), spread it in a tarte pan, and then added the pumpkin yumminess.

After about 30 minutes in the oven, we had a golden Pumpkin & Onion Tarte. We had it as a simple dinner with soup and green salad, and homemade applesauce for dessert. Perfect dinner for a chilly fall evening.