When roasting pumpkin, roast the whole thing and reserve half for this scrumptious dip.
Ingredients
—Half a large grey pumpkin (about 1 kg or a generous 2 pound) Olive oil Flaky sea salt ½ cup plain unsweetened yoghurt 1 tsp lemon juice, or to taste 1 large clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 red chilli, halved, seeds removed, finely chopped Zest of ½ lemon taken off in small pieces 1 tsp grated peeled ginger 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil ½ tsp ground coriander
Method
—1 Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Cut pumpkin into chunks and remove seeds. Rub with olive oil and arrange in a single layer in a shallow roasting tin lined with baking (parchment) paper. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn pumpkin with tongs and roast for 5 or so minutes more, until tender. Cool.
2 Scoop pumpkin flesh from skin, being careful not to take too much green or the dip will lose its appealing bright colour (see Recipe Notes below). If the pumpkin is stringy, push it through a coarse sieve, otherwise mash with a potato masher. Season with salt and add yoghurt and lemon juice. Have a taste. It should have a rich pumpkin flavour and a little tang.
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- Mash …
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- Whip in yoghurt …
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- Stir in spicy oil
3 Heat extra virgin olive oil and lemon zest in a small frying pan over a low heat; warm up slowly, before letting the zest take on a little colour. Add garlic, chilli, ginger and coriander and cook gently until garlic colours to a pale tan colour – take care not to let it darken or it will taste bitter. Immediately remove pan from heat and spoon half the mixture into the bowl of pumpkin. Stir together then transfer dip to a serving bowl. Spoon over remaining flavoured oil. Serve with crackers (see notes below) or thin slices of toasted ciabatta.
Recipe Notes
What to do with the leftover pumpkin skins? Peel off the plastic-like outer skin, then return the skins to the oven and roast until browned. They make a delicious snack.
I served the dip with a bunch of gorgeous rye crackers made by a Danish woman, Line Hart, who, living in New Zealand, missed her mum’s crackerbreads so much she went on to create them herself: Line’s Knaekbrod, flavoured with fennel and poppy seed. Yum! You can read Line’s story here https://www.linesknaekbrod.co.nz/our-story.html
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