Chef Roberta's spicy "pulled pork" & pumpkin crostini

Duration: 40 Min

Difficulty: Easy

Made by: Roberta d'Elia

Roberta d’Elia, Head Chef at Pasta Evangelists, specialises in pasta fatto a mano (pasta made by hand) and teaching artisan techniques and ancient traditions which have been passed down in Italy through the centuries. Hailing from Puglia, in the Italian South, Roberta learned how to cut, roll and twist by hand using traditional tools with her nonna as a little girl. Loved by guests for her warmth, charisma and wealth of pasta knowledge, Roberta is a regular guest on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch and has hosted events with high-end British and Italian brands alike - from Parmigiano Reggiano and Clarence Court Eggs to Alighieri Jewellery and the Sunday Times Food.

Ingredients

4 Portions

8 slides of fresh bread, such as ciabatta
300 g pumpkin pulp
80 g spreadable vegan cheese
20 g of vegan feta cheese
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ clove of garlic
Cracked black pepper to taste
Dried chili flakes to taste
Sea salt
Fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or parsley
1 box of Pulled Pork from Eatplanted
Micro thyme (to decorate)

Preparation

Cut the pumpkin pulp into thin slices and place on a lined baking dish. Drizzle with oil, a sprinkling of sea salt and bake at 160 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, until the slices are soft and slightly crunchy on the edges.

While it cools, bake the slices of bread with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

When the pumpkin is cooled, add a tablespoon of fresh vegan cheese, pepper, chilli, fresh herbs and mix it until creamy. You can use a food processors here. Let everything cool again.

Gently fry the pulled pork in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh parsley for a couple of minutes or until hot. Leave to one side.

Now that all the ingredients are ready, we can plate our crostini.

Please some of the pumpkin mousse on top of the crostini, add some of the pulled pork, decorate with few crumbles of feta cheese and serve with some micro thyme.