Textures of Pumpkin: Pumpkin Pudding, Ricotta Ice Cream, Candied Pumpkin Seeds, Butternut Crisp, Pine Nut Powder, Muscovado Shortbread Crumble, and Brown Butter Emulsion

METHOD:

For the Brown Butter Emulsion:
Brown the butter in a rondeau over a medium heat; while the butter is still hot, add the milk and cream. Put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight. Strain the milk mixture. Add the orange zest and sugar and put the mixture in a large pot over a medium heat. Heat the mixture to a simmer and add the agar agar. Continue to cook for about 3 minutes, strain the mixture, and cook it until it sets. Blend the mixture and set it aside until you’re ready to plate.

For the Ricotta Ice Cream:
Combine the milk, cream, glucose, trimoline, sucrose, and sorbet stabilizer in a large pot. Cook over medium heat to dissolve the sugars. Temper the egg yolks with the hot milk mixture and incorporate; cool the entire mixture. Blend in the ricotta and strain the mixture completely. Chill the ice cream base, and then process it in an ice cream machine and freeze.

For the Pumpkin Pudding:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roast the pumpkin until tender in the oven. Remove them from the oven and let cool. Scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin. Measure out 1 liter of pumpkin pulp and blend it to a purée with the nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, pepper, and ½ the simple syrup. Add more syrup and salt to form the correct texture. Blend in the Ultratex 8 modified tapioca starch 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired texture is obtained.

For the Butternut Crisp:
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Blend the purée, simple syrup, and egg white together. Spread the mixture very thinly onto a Silpat-lined sheet tray. Put the sheet tray in the oven and bake for approximately 1½ hours, or until the crisps are dry.

For the Candied Pumpkin Seeds:
Combine the sugar and water in a small pot over a medium heat. Heat to 121°C and add the pumpkin seeds. Stir the mixture constantly until the sugar crystallizes. Add the salt and stir. Remove the seeds from the heat and spread them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

For the Muscovado Shortbread Crumble:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter, muscovado sugar, and 10x sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, then the flour and salt and combine. Spread the shortbread on a sheet tray and bake it in the oven until it turns a golden brown. Remove the shortbread from the oven and allow it to cool. Pulse the shortbread to a crumble in a food processor.

For the Pine Nut Powder:
Blend the hot pine nuts in food processor and add the pine nut oil until the mixture is liquid. Add the salt and tapioca and process until a powder is achieved. Store in a dry air-tight container.

To Assemble and Serve:
Pipe a mound of the pumpkin pudding onto the plate. Put the pumpkin seeds and pine nut powder on top of the pumpkin pudding. Put a pile of muscovado crumble on plate and top with ricotta ice cream. Add emulsion and crisp. Serve.