When I am at O.K.'s for the weekend, I like looking through the leaflets, brochures and weekly magazines that arrive in his mail box on Saturdays, and the weekend before last, there was an Aldi brochure with a recipe that sounded so good I wanted to try it.
You know I usually do not cook when I'm on my own, so I waited until O.K. was here for this past weekend before I gave the recipe a try.
Here is what you need: (I apologize for the blurred photos - I took them very quickly while preparing this and probably was not focusing the camera properly.)
- Hokkaido pumpkin
- Feta cheese
- Honey, lemon juice, salt, pepper, thyme
- Olive oil
Heat up the oven - the recipe said 180 Celsius and explicitly did NOT recommend using the fan, so I did as I was told.
Make a marinade of honey, lemon juice and olive oil. I can't tell you exactly how much I used of each; the mini pot of honey was a left-over from having breakfast at a café months ago, and I simply used it all, squeezed a generous amount of lemon juice on it and added about 3 table spoons of oil.
Cut the Hokkaido in half and remove the seeds. Cut it into slices like these, and arrange on an oven tray.
Drizzle the marinade over the slices. The more, the better! Then put into the oven (which should be hot enough by now) and leave for maybe 25 - 30 minutes, depending how thick you've cut the pumpkin and how well "done" you like it.
Remove the tray and sprinkle the pumpkin slices with crumbled feta and some thyme (dried or fresh - I only had dried one, and that was fine). Put back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so.
Note: Feta does not melt like other types of cheese you may use for gratins, so don't wait for that - it will be ready when you think it's ready.
In the meantime, make salad or whatever else you want to eat with this.
Then pour a nice glass of white wine, light a candle or two and sit down with your loved one(s) to enjoy.
Preparing takes about 15 minutes, time in the oven between 30 and 40 minutes. A tasty, easy meal just right for an autumn evening.
(Again, sorry for the blurred picture!)
Looks good! I have never heard of that kind of pumpkin! Just looked it up, it even said you don't have to peel it to eat it! Interesting! (Even so, I think I would peel it anyway!)
ReplyDeleteI did not peel it; the only parts we did not eat were the seeds. Hokkaido is, I think, the most popular pumpkin for eating here in Germany. You can find it nearly everywhere, even at Aldi's :-)
DeleteIt looks so good! We do not have Aldi's in my state, and as much as i want one, they won't build here.
ReplyDeleteIt was good! We did not manage to eat it all up, so I'll have leftovers tonight :-)
DeleteDelicious and so fun to try new recipes! I think your Hokkaido squash is what we call Kabucha. It's a favorite but not easy to find...
ReplyDeleteIt sounded easy enough for me to give it a try, and we were both pleased with the result. According to wikipedia, our Hokkaido is your "Red kuri" squash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kuri_squash
DeleteYum! That looks delicious but I've never heard of Hakkaido pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of pumpkin recipes and supermarkets, my neighborhood Food Lion has started selling "pumpkin gingerbread" in their bakery. It's delicious, but addictive!
I've just checked it on wikipedia, I guess you call it Red kuri squash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kuri_squash
DeletePumpkin gingerbread sounds delicious indeed! Maybe you remember that I've posted about the pumpkin secco (sparkling wine) my Mum and I love - it's also delicious! Pumpkin is so versatile and works well both in sweet and savoury foods.
It does, indeed. I like to add mashed pumpkin to chili to boost the flavor and nutrition!
DeleteThat looks delicious, although I've never heard of that kind of pumpkin. Here, when a recipe says pumpkin I usually use butternut squash as they're available all year round. You've reminded me of a nice salad I used to make with roasted squash/pumpkin, feta and toasted seeds. Those flavours go really well together.
ReplyDeleteThat salad sounds delicious, Gillian!
DeleteAccording to wikipedia, this pumpkin goes by many different names: "Red kuri squash is commonly called Japanese Squash, Orange Hokkaido Squash, Baby Red Hubbard Squash, or the Uchiki Kuri Squash. In Japan, the word kuri may refer to either the squash discussed in this article or to Japanese chestnuts. In France it is called Potimarron, and in the United Kingdom it is commonly called Onion Squash."
Sounds and looks delicious! I hadn't heard of Hokkaido pumpkin, though in Japan I have been eating Hokkaido butter and Hokkaido cheese. Its a part of Japan I want to get to sometime - sounds fascinating. Anyway I have a squash at a WI market that I have been wondering what to do with, so I might give this recipe a go and hope it works!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you've heard of it under a different name, see my reply to Gillian's comment above yours.
DeleteI hope you'll find your squash will taste very nice and make for a good autumnal meal.
Like other commenters I'd never heard that name before but I've eaten pumpkin in New Zealand quite a lot although never used it myself. I enjoy butternut squashes in soup puréed with other vegetables but I'm not a huge fan of pumpkins and squashes on their own. There is something in the consistency which isn't quite welcomed by my eating senses.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, pumpkin didn't feature much on the average kitchen table here in Germany. I only knew it as a sweet-sour compote kind of thing that we ate in connection with Fondue or Raclette.
DeleteOver the last 20 years, it has become very popular, and I like it in all types of dishes.
And her I was, thinking pumpkins were only useful for frightening small children at Halloween, or making into (small) boats. Looks good.
ReplyDeleteI like it when food is grown to be eaten. To use it solely for decorative purposes makes me feel uneasy; too many hungry mouths still to feed on this planet.
DeleteHaving said that, I once carved a large pumpkin into a mean face with my Granddad's help. After a few days of sitting on my grandparents' doorstep with a tea candle inside, it started to sag and needed throwing away.