#What to do with the one that got away?!  If you, like me, are managing to save some pumpkins from the great Halloween carve up massacre… here are some ideas in which you can put them to their greater worth.

There are a wide range of pumpkins that belong to the same family of squashes.  Choose from the more sweet and earthy butternut squash to the more fibrous (and darker) round pumpkin, and many others that come in a variety of colours and flavours. Use them roasted for purées to intensify the sweetness or boiled for desserts and soups. A legendary American Forefathers Folk song ‘New England’s Annoyances’ has a stanza: “We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon; If it was not for pumpkins we should be undone!”, and quite so. They are bursting with beta-carotene that converts to vitamin A. Good for eyes, bones and your heart.  Contain minerals such as calcium and magnesium, Vitamins E, C and B and have a high density and low calorie count so eat them to your heart’s content.

‘PimPam Pumpkin Tart’, dresses up in all the autumnal colours and is served with tahini, yoghurt, lemon dressing.

INGREDIENTS

Pimpam Pumpkin Tart

1k roasted round pumpkin

4 red onions sliced

Olive oil

1 teaspoon thyme

1 clove garlic

1 scant teaspoon chilli flakes

1 sheet Puff pastry

FOR THE DRESSING

2 tablespoons tahini sesame paste

1 to 2 tablespoons hot water to blend

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons yoghurt

1 clove garlic

Sea salt

2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons cumin

Fresh rocket and coriander leaves mixed

METHOD

First heat the oven to 200C

Cut the pumpkin into pieces about 1 to 1.5inches / 2.5 to 3cm thick.  Roast in heated oven for approximately 40 minutes or until pumpkin is soft.

Place in a baking tray lightly sprinkled with olive oil.  Season with sea salt.

Slice the onions to a medium thickness.

Heat a frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil.   Gently fry till translucent.  Add garlic, chilli flakes and dried thyme. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Toast the pumpkin seeds with the cumin seeds and leave to one side. Place the puff pastry on a baking sheet.  Spread your onion mixture over the puff pastry. Next take your pumpkin out of the oven.  Remove the skin.  Place the segments intermittently over the onions.   Place in the oven and cook for around 15/20 minutes.

While your ‘PimPam Pumpkin Tart’ is cooking, make the dressing.  Mix the tahini with a little water, then blend the lemon and yoghurt.  Add sea salt. Mix the salad leaves with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

When ready to serve…place the dressing over the pumpkin and scatter the salad leaves over the tart, followed by the roasted seeds.  Combine with ‘Pimpam Pumpkin’ beer, the handcrafted beer from local brewers ‘Tyris’.  Serve the tart and pop open a PimPam Pumpkin.  Try and say that backwards after you’ve had one!

LA OLA FRESCA

C/ Músico Magenti, 11

Tel:610 026 305

(For reservations)

www.laolafresca.com

Zona Benimaclet