Roast Pumpkin with Dukkha and Pomegranate

Preparation Set the oven at 400°F/200°C/Gas 6. Scoop out the seeds and fibers from the middle of the pumpkin or butternut squash. Slice the flesh into thin segments, each about 1cm thick. Lay the pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Trickle over the olive oil and season with black pepper, then bake for about thirty minutes, until soft and translucent. In a dry frying pan, mix the coriander and cumin and toast over a low to moderate heat for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and continue toasting for about five minutes, stirring regularly until all is golden. Stir in the thyme and salt, then grind the mixture using a pestle and mortar, cracking the seeds roughly. Keep the mixture rough and knobbly. Fold in the nigella seeds and pistachios. Break open the pomegranate and remove the seeds. When the pumpkin comes from the oven, scatter over the pomegranate seeds, about half the spice and seed mixture and serve. Store the remaining mixture in a jar until needed. From The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, Stories & 100 Essential Recipes for Winter © 2018 by Nigel Slater. Reprinted by permission of Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.

Preparation Set the oven at 400°F/200°C/Gas 6. Scoop out the seeds and fibers from the middle of the pumpkin or butternut squash. Slice the flesh into thin segments, each about 1cm thick. Lay the pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Trickle over the olive oil and season with black pepper, then bake for about thirty minutes, until soft and translucent. In a dry frying pan, mix the coriander and cumin and toast over a low to moderate heat for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and continue toasting for about five minutes, stirring regularly until all is golden. Stir in the thyme and salt, then grind the mixture using a pestle and mortar, cracking the seeds roughly. Keep the mixture rough and knobbly. Fold in the nigella seeds and pistachios. Break open the pomegranate and remove the seeds. When the pumpkin comes from the oven, scatter over the pomegranate seeds, about half the spice and seed mixture and serve. Store the remaining mixture in a jar until needed. From The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, Stories & 100 Essential Recipes for Winter © 2018 by Nigel Slater. Reprinted by permission of Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.