A pumpkin,
a pie & a
bit of a mess.
One lantern for the farmyard, one tart for the kitchen, and the usual question: what shall we do with the rest?
Come and have a look ↓October arrives.
The daylight leaves early.
There is something about this time of year. The evenings draw in, the fields change colour and it suddenly seems perfectly sensible to cut a face into a pumpkin and put a light inside it.
So that’s what we’ve been doing at Oakfield. It looks lovely after dark. It also leaves quite a lot of pumpkin on the kitchen table, which is where the next idea starts.
Our rule of thumb? If there’s a useful second life for something, it’s worth having a go. We don’t always get it right first time. Ask us about the cider.
A candlelit pumpkin at dusk. Even a farmyard looks different by lantern light.
A face for the yard. A filling for a tart.
First comes the hollowing-out. Then the careful business of carving a grin without removing one of your own fingers. After that, the pumpkin earns its place by the gate as the light fades.
But the interesting bit isn't just the lantern. It's the food, seeds and leftovers that come with it. That is the kind of small experiment we like on the farm — seeing what can be used, and what we can do better next time.
Before pumpkins became the familiar Halloween lantern, people in Britain and Ireland carved turnips and other root vegetables. The pumpkin is a much kinder thing to hollow out. English Heritage explains why.
The pumpkin gets a grin. The cook gets a pile of orange bits. Everybody gets a job.
Proper pumpkin tart.
Not just for Halloween.
A gently spiced, not-too-fancy tart. Good with a spoonful of cream and a decent cup of tea.
What you'll need
- 375g ready-made shortcrust pastry
- 425g cooked, well-drained pumpkin purée
- 2 medium eggs
- 120g light soft brown sugar
- 150ml double cream
- 1 tsp mixed spice, plus a pinch of salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Whipped cream or crème fraîche, to serve
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan. Line a 23cm tart tin with the pastry, prick the base and chill for 15 minutes.
- Line with baking paper and baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans and paper, then bake for 5 minutes more until just golden.
- Whisk the pumpkin purée, eggs, sugar, cream, spice, salt and vanilla until smooth. Pour into the pastry case.
- Reduce the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan. Bake for 35–45 minutes, until the filling is set with a slight wobble in the centre. Cool before slicing.
Kitchen note: Use fresh, sound cooking pumpkin or squash for the tart — not a lantern that's been sitting outside with a candle in it.
And then there's the pumpkin pile.
We're always looking for ways to make better use of what the farm gives us. Not every scrap has the same answer, and we won't pretend we've got that sorted yet. That's half the interest in keeping a farm notebook.
And another odd fact: botanically, pumpkins are fruits — and they are close relations of courgettes. The RHS has the details.
Good cooking pumpkin can go into soup, roasting or this tart — provided it's handled as food from the start.
Some can be cleaned and roasted. A useful little snack, if you don't mind a bit of fiddling.
Composting is one useful home for leftovers that aren't destined for the kitchen. A candlelit lantern, however, is not dinner.
There's always something happening.
We do rather more than carve pumpkins.
Oakfield Farm also cooks hog and lamb roasts for parties and events. We can cook at your venue, cook at the farm and deliver, or hire you a roasting machine. No need to stand outside in the November rain unless you really want to.
See our food & catering ↗