Baked Pumpkin with Hummus

In the weeks ahead, holiday cooking will be shifting up another gear. There are a bunch of seasonal ingredients and dishes I want to play with. Let’s start with baked pumpkin with hummus. Here, I got the recipe from Nigel Slater’s holiday table I saw on the Guardian.

The pumpkin I use is kabocha squash, a green Japanese pumpkin I’ve been seeing at Trader Joe’s. I might have eaten kabocha squash tempura in a Japanese restaurant, but I’ve not cooked it in my kitchen. Now I discover that it tastes more like sweet potato than butternut squash. As you cut open the kabocha squash (see picture below), you’ll see the orange flesh and texture very much similar to that of a butternut squash, except it’s much sweeter.

To digress a little: for me the fall season is the best time to visit Japan. Among my favorite places to visit are the temples and gardens in Kyoto. The beauty and tranquility of these timeless places are unsurpassed. I wish I can spend more time there to soak up the essence of zen any direction you turn. Nevertheless, I’m thankful for a brief few days of quiet contemplation in Kyoto last week before thrusting into the chaos in Hong Kong.

The hummus is a puree of chickpea, roasted garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. I make it in the food processor while the slices of pumpkin are baking in the oven. To Nigel Slater’s credit, a touch of red peppercorns and fresh thyme, by and large, invokes the holiday spirit. An auspicious start!

Print Recipe

Baked pumpkin with hummus

Serves: serves 6

Ingredients

• 1kg pumpkin
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, skin on
• 10 sprigs rosemary
• 8 bushy sprigs thyme
• 75g butter
• 10g parsley leaves
• 2 tsp pink peppercorns
• For the hummus:
• 2 400g cans chickpeas
• juice of 1 small lemon
• 150ml olive oil

Instructions

1

Set the oven at 200°C/ 395°F.

2

Remove the seeds and fibres from the pumpkin then cut the flesh into 8 wedges. Lightly oil a baking tin (I cover mine with kitchen foil for easier cleaning) and lay the wedges in a single layer.

3

Tuck in the garlic cloves. Season with salt, black pepper and the sprigs of rosemary and thyme then moisten with olive oil. Dot the butter in small lumps over the pumpkin.

4

Roast for 45 minutes until the squash is golden-brown in colour and the texture is soft and fudgy.

5

For the hummus, drain the chickpeas and bring them to the boil in deep water. Turn the heat down and let them simmer for 8-10 minutes till thoroughly hot.

6

Squeeze the roast garlic cloves out of their skin into the bowl of a food processor. Drain the chickpeas, then tip them into the food processor. Add the lemon juice and process, pouring in enough of the oil to produce a soft, spreadable cream.

7

Chop the parsley and pink peppercorns together then moisten with a tablespoon of olive oil.

8

Spoon the hummus to a serving dish, place the roasted pumpkin on top then scatter the parsley and peppercorns over all and serve.

Notes

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/nov/19/nigel-slater-recipes-christmas-feast-trout-tartare-turkey-leg-quince-pies-recipes