Instructions: With a sharp knife cut off the pumpkins skin and seeds then cut the flesh into small pieces and place in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water

Cover the pan and cook over low heat stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula until you can crush the softened pumpkin with the spatula.

Puree the pumpkin in a food processor or blender return it to the pan and cook over low heat stirring continuously until thick and smooth

Transfer the puree to a bowl

Spread the almonds on a grill pan and grill until pale golden.

Put in the food processor with the sugar and orange zests and crush into small pieces Stir these into the pumpkin puree and add the orange flower water if you are using it On a lightly floured marble or wooden surface roll out 250g puff pastry into a circle 23mm thick Brush a baking sheet with water and lay the pastry circle on the sheet Brush a 1cm border with eggwash roll it over and pinch up the edge to make a small rim to hold in the filling Using a palette knife spread the pumpkin and almond filling evenly over the pastry.

Brush the outer rim of the pastry with eggwash

Roll the remaining pastry into a long rectangle and cut into strips to make a lattice on top of the tart Lay these strips in a crisscross pattern on the tart and brush with the rest of the eggwash Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes
Meanwhile preheat the oven to gas 7 220C (425F)

Bake the tart in the preheated oven for 35 minutes then slide it on to a wire rack Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar if you like and serve it whole on a round china plate.

serves 8
preparation time 25 mins
plus 20 minutes resting
cooking time 35 mins

This divine Provencal tart was traditionally served at Christmas. It is a very old recipe which is nowadays found only in the remoter parts of the region

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