An exciting new alternative to pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving! A pumpkin strudel with a toasted hazelnut crunch and drizzled with melted chocolate. Can also easily be made with butternut squash!
Peel, deseed and dice Pumpkin into 1 to 2 inch cubes. Toss together with other filling ingredients and place in a baking dish or on a sheet pan. Bake in oven for 20 - 30 minutes. Depending on the size of your cubes the faster they will cook.
Meanwhile, place all ingredients listed under hazelnut topping in a medium sized saucepan. Stir frequently over low-medium heat. Do not let the hazelnuts burn. Remove saucepan from heat once hazelnuts have absorbed all of the liquid and are golden brown. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
Remove Pumpkin from Oven when it is soft. Peel of skin and mash pumpkin flesh with a fork. If Pumpkin is too hard, return to oven for another 5 minutes. Allow pumpkin to slightly cool.
Spread pumpkin mixture on the puff pastry sheet with a 1 inch border and top with 2/3 of hazelnut topping. Working quickly and touching the puff pastry as little as possible.
Fold dough over (like a brochure) and seal the ends. Brush with vegetable oil and bake in oven for 20 - 30 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown.
While strudel in baking, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.
Remove strudel from oven. Drizzle with melted chocolate and top with remaining hazelnut topping. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
1.) In a pinch, you can use canned pumpkin instead of fresh. Make sure there are minimal additives in the canned pumpkin and no added sugar.2.) If you are not familiar with using puff pastry, there are a few things to keep in mind. Puff pastry needs to be cold. Don't take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Allow the pumpkin to cool down a bit before spreading it on the puff pastry. If the pumpkin is still very hot, the puff pastry will tear and make it very hard to work with.3.) Hazelnuts can be substituted with pecans or almonds.