Butternut squash gratin with minced meat

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg pumpkin(s), butternut squash
• 500 g minced meat, half and half (beef & pork)
• 2 dl double cream
• 200 g cheese (Emmental), grated
• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4 stalks of thyme
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed and thinly sliced
• 100 g Parmesan, grated
• 1 tbsp brown cane sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp, heaped Allspice d’Espelette
• 1 pinch of nutmeg, grated
• some salt
• some pepper
• 50 g clarified butter
• 100 g bacon, roughly diced
• 50 g butter

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 170°C. Peel and seed the butternut squash, then roughly dice. Sauté in a deep pan over moderate heat in half of the clarified butter until soft. Season with salt and pepper, nutmeg, and Espelette pimento. Add the parsley and let it infuse briefly, then set aside. Pick and finely chop the thyme leaves. Heat the other half of the clarified butter in an iron skillet and brown the bacon until well browned. Add the garlic and onions and sauté until translucent, but do not allow them to brown. Add the thyme and shredded minced meat, season with salt and pepper, and fry until browned, breaking them up frequently. Add the sugar and caramelize (but do not allow it to blacken!). Let cool. Whisk the double cream with the eggs in a saucepan and heat until gently simmering. Add half of the Parmesan cheese and heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, then let cool. Thoroughly butter a large gratin dish. Place a layer of steamed pumpkin on the bottom, then minced meat mixture and several spoonfuls of the cream and Parmesan sauce on top, then sprinkle half of the Emmental cheese on top. Add another layer each of pumpkin, minced meat and sauce, then more Emmental cheese. Top with the pumpkin and a thick layer of sauce. Sprinkle the other half of the Parmesan cheese on top and dot with butter. Cover, place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, turn on the top heat and increase the temperature to 200°C, bake for a further 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, then (IMPORTANT, otherwise everything will fall apart!) let cool for another 10 minutes. Cut into portions using a very sharp knife, arrange on plates with cress and serve.