I have to clean out my fridge before the holidays — which involves eating an entire giant grey pumpkin over a weekend!
Originally, I had roasted it in the oven with butter + olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, and cloves — how I normally roast squash. However, this gourd tasted particularly pumpkiny and lacked any sweetness, even after roasting. It was a little disappointing, but I did not want my food to go to waste.
Since I had a few other ingredients that I had to use up, I improvised and threw them all together with the leftover pumpkin. Surprisingly, it turned into something delicious! In fact, this ended up tasting so good that I wanted to record what I did so I could make this again.
Reheating the squash on low heat for over an hour helped caramelize the sugars, brought out its sweetness, and enhanced the spices. The tang of the citrus gave this a fresh kick. And leeks are always a great idea. It paired fabulously with Piot-Sévillano’s Brut Rosé “Âme de la rive droite”!
Here’s the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1 large squash or pumpkin, cut in wedges or cubed, previously roasted
1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
25-50g butter
Juice of 1/2 a bergamot (lemon also works)
1 leek, coarsely chopped
2 sprigs rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: maple syrup
INSTRUCTIONS
- On medium heat, add olive oil and melt butter. Add leeks and heat until soft. Turn down heat to low and add squash and sprigs of rosemary.
- Continue to heat until squash starts to caramelize (~1h). Squeeze citrus over squash and add salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and red currants. Enjoy!
