Tuesday 2 November 2010

Pumpkin & Chick Pea salad with Tahini sauce

With half a pumpkin sitting in the fridge I searched the net for ideas. I stumbled upon this warm pumpkin and chick pea salad with tahini, and was inspired!
Firstly I chopped pumpkin, green pepper and courgette into a roasting dish. I added oil, chili flakes, grated nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice, and then put in to the oven.
Meanwhile in a large bowl I added half a chopped red onion and a drained tin of chick peas.
Once the veggies were soft, I added them to the chick pea mixture and stirred well. This mixture was then spooned onto a bed of simple salad (spinach, tomato, cucumber and lettuce).
For a tahini sauce, I added a tablespoon of tahini and crushed garlic clove to about 4 tablespoons of plain yogurt. Stir well, and add lemon juice to taste. If the sauce is too thick/strong, dilute with further yogurt. Spoon the sauce over the salad & serve with some tasty breads.
Absolutely delicious if I do say so myself. Though the raw onion / garlic combo does mean no snogging immediately after :)

Monday 1 November 2010

Happy Halloween!

So we were a day late eating our pumpkin, due to a spooky trip here.
Back home, in the cosy warm and brandishing a sharp(ish) knife I attempted to carve the pumpkin. Realising that a) my knife is a bit blunt, b) I am not that strong, and c) this was one tough cookie (or should I say pumpkin), I concentrated on dinner instead. For a pumpkin and halloumi pasty, in a roasting dish with a little oil went chopped pumpkin, red pepper and leek. Seasoned with fresh rosemary, paprika and pepper. Off in the oven. Meanwhile I rolled out puff pastry into two rectangles and greased a baking tray.
Once the veggies were soft, I spooned them onto the pastry, added some chopped halloumi and then covered with pastry, scrunching up the edges, like a Cornish pasty.
Put in the oven until golden & then scoff!!!