Charred Chicory Cups with Walnut Caramel

• sunflower oil↗

  for greasing

• golden sugar↗100g g
• walnut halves↗50g g
• caraway seed1 tsp tsp
• fennel seed1 tsp tsp
• soft blue cheese↗50g g
• cream cheese↗50g g
• chicory↗4

  heads

• muscat pumpkin, peeled and coarsely grated↗200g g

  peeled and coarsely grated

• marinated walnuts2

  chopped into small pieces (I used Opies)

• green chilies↗1-2

  thinly sliced

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Start by making the caramel. Grease a baking tray with oil, then pour the sugar into a pan. Place the pan over medium‑high heat to melt the sugar, turning it occasionally so it melts evenly – but do not stir, otherwise it will crystallize. When the sugar looks like a golden syrup, add the walnuts, cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Stir briefly to coat the nuts with the melted sugar, then quickly and very carefully pour the mixture onto the greased tray. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then cut into small pieces.

2. 2

   In a bowl, beat the cheeses together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Transfer to a disposable pastry bag and keep in a cool place until needed.

3. 3

   Remove the outer leaves from the chicory heads. Carefully pick off the remaining leaves until you have 20‑25 nice leaves (keep the core to make a syrup for a Chicory Collins cocktail, if desired).

4. 4

   Place 6‑8 chicory leaves, curved side up, in a large non‑stick pan over high heat. Let them toast for 1‑2 minutes until the edges begin to char. Remove them with tongs and let them cool on a large plate, curved side down. Repeat until all leaves are toasted.

5. 5

   Toast the muscat pumpkin, a small handful at a time, in the same non‑stick pan. Cook for 2‑3 minutes until the pumpkin becomes drier and the edges start to darken. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all the pumpkin is done.

6. 6

   To assemble the canapés, cut off the tip of the pastry bag to create a round nozzle and pipe a small dollop of the cheese mixture into each chicory cup. Add a generous pinch of toasted pumpkin and top with one or two pieces of the marinated nuts. Pipe another dollop of the cheese mixture onto each cup, sprinkle with pieces of caramel, then scatter the finely sliced green chilies and serve.