← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 1 kg pumpkin or kabocha squash (peeled weight), cut into 5 × 7 cm pieces, 2 cm thick
• 250 g Sugar
• 3 tbsp Tahini
• 50 g Walnuts, crushed

Method

1. Lay the pumpkin pieces in a single layer in a wide, heavy pan and sprinkle the sugar evenly over and between them.
2. Cover and leave at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight, until the pumpkin has released lots of juice and the sugar has dissolved into syrup.
3. Set the pan over low heat, cover and cook for 40–50 min, gently turning the pieces once halfway, until the pumpkin is tender, translucent at the edges and sitting in thick syrup. Add a few spoons of water if the syrup starts to catch.
4. Leave to cool completely in the syrup, then chill.
5. Serve cold, drizzled with tahini and scattered with walnuts.

Tips

• A dense, dry pumpkin such as kabocha or crown prince holds its shape best.
• Contains sesame (tahini) and walnuts; clotted cream (kaymak) is a lovely non-vegan extra.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Turkey’s For Life Unicorns in the Kitchen