Baked Pumpkin with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Labneh
This is the most delicious baked pumpkin recipe of all time - literally bursting with flavour. When I make this roasted pumpkin recipe in colder months, it brings some Mediterranean sunshine to the table. I think it’s a nice alternative vegetarian pumpkin side dish for a Thanksgiving table. If you want to make it vegan then just omit the labneh.
I usually serve this roast pumpkin recipe as part of a mezze spread or as a pumpkin side dish and it gets swooped up in minutes. The sun-dried tomatoes combined with the onions give this dish a deep flavour that is sweet yet tangy at the same time.
Roasting pumpkin is the best way to intensify the flavour of this gourd as it brings out the natural sweetness and creaminess. I like to make this with the American pumpkin pie style vegetable but it also works with kabocha pumpkins that more widely available in Asia.
This roasted pumpkin recipe is based on one I saw a Turkish lady cook on a Rick Stein TV show but I have tweaked it to be gluten-free. I serve it topped with cool thick creamy labneh and garnished with coriander leaves.
This recipe for roast pumpkin is so easy to make I guarantee you will do so time and time again. I usually assemble it ahead of time and then pop it in the oven an hour before guests arrive as it can be eaten warm. You can make it in a casserole dish but I find a springform baking tin works best so your guests can see the layers of orange roast pumpkin under the dark onions and cool white labneh.
Baked Pumpkin with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Labneh
Ingredients
500g pumpkin, sliced
A small jar of sun-dried tomato paste (or whole ones blitzed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil)
1 large white onion, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Coriander leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
400g labneh or full-fat Greek yogurt (optional)
Salt & Pepper
Method
To make the labneh, place the yogurt and a teaspoon of salt in a muslin or tea towel inside a strainer balanced on a bowl. Wrap the muslin on top and cover with a weight such as a plate or some cans. Leave in the fridge overnight. The following day you should have a thick labneh that is about half the volume of the yogurt. Transfer to a small bowl or jar and top with extra virgin olive oil.
If you don’t have time to make labneh, you can use some full-fat Greek yogurt combined with salt and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Combine the thinly sliced onion strips with some salt and leave to sit for 10 minutes to break them down. Then combine the onions with the sun-dried tomato paste and season with pepper.
In a baking tin or casserole dish layer the pumpkin slices evenly, seasoning between each layer. Spread the onion and sun-dried tomato mixture evenly over the pumpkin.
Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes until tender.
Serve the baked pumpkin warm, topped with cold labneh, and garnished with coriander