Roasted Pumpkin:
Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan). Line a tray with baking/parchment paper.
Peel, deseed and cut pumpkin into 3cm / 1.2″ cubes – see photos in post for how I do it with little effort. You should end up with about 1 kg – enough to fill a tray.
Place pumpkin in a bowl, add garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss well using a rubber spatula.
Spread on tray. Roast 20 minutes. Turn pumpkin pieces, then roast a further 7 to 10 minutes until nicely coloured but holding it’s shape, rather than being a mushy mess.
Lemon Yogurt Sauce:
Mix ingredients then set aside for at least 10 minutes to let the flavours develop.
Pine Nuts:
Preheat skillet over medium high heat (no oil). Add pine nuts and cook, stirring regularly, until it smells amazing and it’s got a hint of browning on both sides. Remove from pan.
Serving:
Pile the pumpkin in a mound on a plate. Drizzle over yogurt sauce, add a little drizzle of olive oil, then sprinkle with sumac, pine nuts and coriander.
I think it’s best served with the pumpkin hot or warm, but for a warm summer day, it is also excellent served at room temperature. Just cool pumpkin, then dress and garnish just before serving.
Notes
1. Pumpkin – any edible type of pumpkin is fine here. Not a Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin, they are not that nice to eat! Sweet potato is perfect here too. (PS Butternut Squash is called Butternut Pumpkin here in Australia, and it’s wonderful too).
2. Spice – I’ve gone Middle Eastern here, with pine nuts and sumac being on-theme. Flaked or slivered almonds are also terrific, and as for spices, paprika or cinnamon works extremely well for an Arabic angle. Having said that though, the flavours are neutral enough to pair with almost any Western dish, as well as Mediterranean.
3. Other flavouring options:
Greek: Chopped dill/mint in sauce, sprinkle dish with dried oregano and more torn dill/mint.
Christmas flavours: Toss pumpkin in cinnamon, nutmeg, clove powder before roasting. Scatter pomegranate seeds and leafy herbs over dish.
Indian-esque: Toss pumpkin in Indian spices (see in post for suggestions) before roasting. Garnish with mint, chopped nuts.
American spice mixes: Toss Old Bay, Cajun or Tex-Mex mix before roasting. Drizzle with honey, squeeze more lemon juice and scatter with seeds of your choice.
Rosemary/thyme: Chop rosemary and/or thyme, toss with pumpkin. Zest a lemon over dish and top with nuts/seeds.
4. Storage – Cooked pumpkin alone will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. If already dressed with sauce and herbs etc then just a couple of days. So try to keep pumpkin separate for storage, make and add sauces/garnishes later when serving. Cooled pumpkin can be microwaved to warm, but take care not to overcook to mush.
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