ROAST DELICA PUMPKIN WITH CRISP SAGE, SEEDS AND CURD

Delica pumpkin is a squat, green-grey pumpkin. Beneath the skin, though, is a dense and vivid orange flesh, which is intensely sweet, buttery, and reminiscent of cooked chestnuts. Some consider it the most prized of the winter squash, and it’s particularly good when roasted with sage, sprinkled with its own roast seeds and slicked with a sheep or goat’s curd. This treatment works well with sweet red kuri (onion), crown prince and butternut squash, too. Cold-pressed rapeseed oil cooks to a higher temperature than olive oil, and also provides an extra nutty flavour. But use light olive oil if that’s what you have, finishing the dish with your favourite extra-virgin variety. SERVES 4 AS A STARTER, 6 AS A SIDE DISH

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200C fan/220C/425F/gas mark 7.

Step 2

Clean the squash or pumpkin with a damp cloth to remove any dirt, then cut it in half from top to bottom with a large, sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and spread them out on a small baking tray. Drizzle a tablespoon of the rapeseed oil on top and mix with a fork, pulling away and discarding any fi bres as you do so. Roast in the oven for 10–20 minutes, until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven, season generously with fl aky sea salt and 1 teaspoon of the Aleppo pepper and set aside.

Step 3

Cut the squash halves into 3–4cm-thick wedges, leaving the skin on. Place in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of the rapeseed oil and mix until glossy, then spread over a large baking tray or low-sided roasting tin, ideally in a single layer. Roast near the top of the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Mix the sage leaves with the fi nal tablespoon of rapeseed oil, then once the squash has been cooking for 20 minutes, carefully fl ip the slices and scatter the sage under and around them. Roast for a further 10–15 minutes, or until the squash is tender and browning at the edges, and the sage leaves are crisp.

Step 5

Spoon the curd (or yoghurt) onto plates or a serving platter. Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil onto this, then pile the squash pieces and crisp sage on top. Sprinkle with the roasted seeds, remaining Aleppo pepper, and perhaps one fi nal glug of oil (extra-virgin, if you have used olive oil for the cooking).