Roasting pumpkin until it’s slightly caramelised but very tender brings a whole new level of sweetness and flavour that is the perfect star and base for this dish. All the extra elements on top just make the entire dish pop with texture and flavour. I love this so much. The flavours sing to me, and I always have the ingredients in my pantry. Take your time in preparing the chickpeas as they will be incredibly crunchy once they’re cool, just remember not so season them before they roast as this inhibits the crunch factor. This goes fabulously well with the Moroccan chicken pies, or the Slow-cooked spiced lamb shoulder.
SERVES 4-6
PREP 20 MIN
COOK 30 MIN
What you’ll need:
1kg pumpkin, deseeded & cut into 2.5 – 3cm thick wedges
¼ cup olive oil
400g can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 tsp ras el hanout spice, plus extra for dusting (available from gourmet food stores and online here)
60g roasted almonds, roughly chopped
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup fresh coriander leaves, to serve
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Dressing
1 cup Greek yoghurt
1 tbs hulled tahini
1 tbs honey
2 tsp lemon juice
What to do:
Preheat oven to 170°C Fan or 190°C Conventional.
Rub the pumpkin with half the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 30 minutes until tender.
At the same time, place chickpeas on paper towel and pat dry. Transfer to a bowl and toss with remaining oil. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast with the pumpkin for 30 minutes until golden and crunchy. Cool chickpeas on the tray then transfer to a bowl. Season with salt, add ras el hanout and toss to coat.
For dressing, whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt. To assemble, arrange pumpkin on a large platter and dollop over dressing. Scatter over the chickpeas, almonds and sesame seeds. Dust with extra ras el hanout and top with coriander leaves.
