Roasted Pumpkin, Sage & Kale
This recipe keeps everyone well fed - with minimum effort, which is the main thing on a busy week night. Throughout the week I try and cook more plant based meals for us all, using an ingredient like this delicious and substantial pumpkin, as the star of the dish. Here I have used a pumpkin called Delica which is insanely good. I roast it with the skin on, as I can’t be bothered to peel any pumpkin raw, it takes ages… I just pull the skin off when serving up. (In the Summer I would substitute pumpkin for butternut squash).
I serve it to the kids with the pumpkin cut into cubes on a bed of the delicious giant couscous, which add a lovely nutty base to the dish. I am using giant wholewheat couscous, but you could use regular giant couscous, or plain couscous. I do cook the couscous (regardless of which one I am using) in homemade vegetable stock, it gives it plenty of added flavour.
Serves 4 adults, or 6-8 children depending on appetite
ingredients ~
1 small pumpkin/ squash (1 kg approx), I am using an Italian pumpkin that I love called Delica
2 red onions, peeled and quartered
fresh sage leaves
1 small bulb of garlic, cloves broken a part but unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
75-80g kale (1/2 a bag approx), washed, picked over and woody stems removed
to serve: 200g giant couscous, cooked according to the packet instructions, in homemade (or no salt) vegetable stock
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven) and prep the pumpkin: wash, trim (I don’t peel as it is much easier to remove the skin before serving), cut into large dice. For one small pumpkin I would halve and then cut each halve into quarters. In a bowl toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. and a grind of black pepper.
Next, take a lined baking tray place the pumpkin chunks on the tray, with the quartered red onion, garlic cloves and sage leaves. (Toss the sage leaves and garlic in a little olive oil first, to stop them burning). I place a sage leaf on top of each pumpkin piece. My children won’t eat the leaves, when I serve the dish, but I love them - they taste delicious (!) and they really leave their scent on the pumpkin, so it is worth doing.
Place the pumpkin in the pre-heated oven and cook at 180C (fan oven) for 40 - 45 mins, or until the pumpkin is completely cooked. Check with a knife and ensure the pumpkin is soft; remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes.
Whilst the pumpkin cooks ~
Take a second tray and scatter with the kale leaves, which I toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil first. They should be in a nice even layer. Roast for 10 minutes in the oven also at 180C (fan oven) - some will be crisp and other leaves wilted. Place to one side.
Cook the couscous, either normal couscous/ or giant couscous. According to the packet instructions. I use (no salt/ low salt ) vegetable stock, instead of water, to add flavour.
To assemble the dish ~
Fold the kale through the couscous, reserving a little to scatter over the end dish
Spread the couscous over a large bowl or platter, top with the roasted pumpkin (remove the skin which should now pull away easily), red onion wedges and crispy sage leaves
Squeeze out the cooked garlic onto the couscous also
Top with a final scatter of the roasted kale and serve