Sunday, April 22, 2012

Herb crumbed pumpkin wedges

April 18, 2012
When a pumpkin turned up in our vege box, I got a hankering for my grandmother's scones. Once that was dealt with we still had three-quarters of the orange beast to eat! Ottolenghi's Plenty came to the rescue, with a relatively simple embellishment on roast pumpkin that cleared up our supply in just two meals. Breadcrumbs, chopped herbs and grated cheese pressed into the surface add a bit of texture and savouriness to a vegetable that can otherwise disintegrate to sweet mush in the oven.

With the recommended dollop of dill sour cream on top, I think these would make a lovely autumn entrée (does anyone out there make entrées at home?). We heaped up a big side salad and called it dinner, though I think these would fare even better as a main with some couscous or quinoa.


Herb crumbed pumpkin wedges
(a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty)

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Slice a pumpkin (or fraction thereof!) into thin wedges (keep the skin on) and lie them across a paper-lined baking dish. Spray or brush them lightly with vegetable oil.

In a small-medium bowl, mix together grated parmesan, breadcrumbs, lots of finely chopped parsley and a little finely chopped thyme, some crushed garlic and grated lemon zest. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the pumpkin wedges, pressing it in gently, and bake the wedges for about 30 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender.

While the pumpkin is baking, finely chop a little dill and stir it into some sour cream, adding salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sour cream onto or next to the pumpkin wedges, to serve.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely people, entrees are still a lovely idea, and thank you for reminding us and giving us this example. NB I looked up this recipe because we too have received lots of pumpkin in 'the box'! The crust or topping is a kind of gremolata, I guess. Thanks to yourselves and Ottolenghi: let's also honour the chef by buying the book. Cheers!

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    1. Yes, Plenty is a lovely book - I use it a lot and constantly recommend it to others!

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