The first of the season’s pumpkins is ready, and though the turkeys have made a serious dent in them, there will still be so many over the next couple of months that we will be thoroughly over pumpkins by the time we run out.
This is a very fast, healthy, easy, seasonal, meal in a bowl. The key ingredient, besides the pumpkin, is a Moroccan spice mix. You can use a ready bought mix, or if you have some of the ingredients in the garden, make one.
I like making my own spice mixes for things like this. Eating lots of meals with fresh turmeric, ginger, and chili is a good way to ward off the viruses that change of season can bring. It also means I can rustle up a really non-ordinary meal without having to do any special shopping.
For this recipe, I use a mortar and pestle to crush together a nut sized knob of (super healthy) fresh turmeric and one of ginger, a fresh chilli and a sprig of fresh coriander with teaspoon of mixed dry cumin and cinnamon, a pinch of cardamom and nutmeg and just a whisker of cloves.
Put half a cup of couscous in your serving bowl and cover it with boiling water. Let it absorb the water, topping up as needed until it is a good texture.
Meanwhile, heat a swig of olive oil in a heavy pan. Peel and chop pumpkin into bite sized pieces. This recipe uses about 2 – 3 cups of chopped pumpkin, but as always you can vary. Saute the pumpkin along with a roughly chopped onion, a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, and your spices. If you use dried spice mix, use about two good teaspoons.
When the pumpkin is nearly there, add a handful of sultanas, ½ a capsicum cut into thick strips, and about 2/3 cup of cooked chick peas (garbanzos). Salt to taste.
While all this is happening, roughly chop some parsley, halve some cherry tomatoes and tear up some rocket. Toss the lot together with the juice of half a lemon and serve into bowls.
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