I’m not sure about you, but I love a good smash. Mashed potatoes, mashed peas, mashed cauliflower – just a few of my favourite vegetables that look good as a hot mess on my plate. This recipe was another one of my happy accidents… I was actually attempting grilled pumpkin…
I was boiling said pumpkin in preparation for grilling while doing some other other things, and dare I say, I might of gotten distracted and forgot about him. When I finally got around to checking to see how long it had to go, it had already reached the point of no return in terms of mushiness and was turning to pieces in front of me. He was already smashed, and had gone soft. Poor pumpkin. How embarrassment. Don’t worry though, everyone got their happy ending, as all experienced cooks know, there is always a plan B.
This recipe is super easy, cheap and incredibly healthy. If you put a few artisan toppings on, it will also make you look really fancy. “Oh yes, I scrapped this off the volcano in my yearly trip Cyprus”, you can say as your sprinkle your lava salt on top while simultaneously polishing your monocle.
Best of all, this tastes heavenly with my 5 Minute Raw Ginger and Chilli Sugar Snap Peas.
- 1/4 pumpkin (I used Kent), peeled and cut into chunks
- Handful baby spinach, rinsed and dried
- Handful basil, rinsed, dried and leaves torn off stems
- Pinch Himalayan salt
- Lug of olive oil
- Pinch black lava salt
- Pumpkin seeds
- In a large pot, cover pumpkin in water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until it feels soft with a folk, about 20 minutes.
- Drain water off and return the pumpkin back into the pot.
- Turn the heat on the pot and swish pumpkin around until all the excess water is gone – about 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Add in the spinach, basil and himalayan salt and mix until everything is wilted down.
- Place in a serving bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and finish by sprinkling over the black lava salt and pumpkin seeds.
I cut mine in half and put the halves in a baking tray with about 1/2″ water. I baked at 400 for about an hour and when done, the pumpkin falls right out of the “shell” in a perfect consistency for mashing!!!
Sounds fab!