A cook tackles pumpkin, but not in a pie

By Leah Eskin

Chicago Tribune (TNS)

The pumpkin features a sturdy exterior and hollow interior, packed with problems. Like: It’s stringy. And watery. And starchy. Last time I wrestled with these complexities, pumpkin won.

It was October, of course. I spent a week attempting pumpkin lasagna, pumpkin quiche, pumpkin gratin, and came to the exhausted, orange-spattered conclusion that pumpkin is only good sweet. Best to stop at pie. Now it is November and time to use the leftover pumpkins.

This go-round, a friend pointed me to the Afghan dish kaddo bourani - pumpkin wedges with meat sauce. The recipe confirmed my suspicions. It takes three hours and three cups of sugar to reveal pumpkin at its best: dense, creamy and delicious.

Served with two sauces - one cool and creamy, one hot and hearty - it’s a meal packed with savory pleasure, and the sweet satisfaction of success.

SAVORY PUMPKIN

Prep: 30 minutes

Cook: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Makes: 8 servings

2 pie pumpkins, each 3 pounds

6 tablespoons mild oil, such as canola

3 cups sugar

Yogurt sauce (recipe follows)

Meat sauce (recipe follows)

1. Cut: Lop the stem off one pumpkin. Using a heavy knife and caution, slice the pumpkin in half from top (where the stem was) to bottom. Turn each half flat-side down. Slice each half into 4 wedges. Scrape out seeds and strings. Repeat, yielding 16 wedges.

2. Peel: Use a vegetable peeler to pare away all the dark orange skin, leaving pale pumpkin boats.

3. Roast: Arrange boats, hollow-side up, in a single layer in a baking pan (or two). Rub on oil. Sprinkle on sugar. Cover pan(s) tightly with foil. Slide into a 300-degree oven and roast, basting once, until pumpkin is very tender, dark orange and appears translucent, about 3 hours and 15 minutes.

4. Serve: For each serving, spoon 2 tablespoons yogurt sauce onto a plate. With a slotted spoon, settle on two slices of roast pumpkin. Top with 1/2 cup meat sauce. Enjoy.

Yogurt sauce: De-germ (remove green shoot) from 1 clove garlic. Mash together with 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk into 1 cup full-fat plain yogurt. Chill.

Meat sauce: In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup canola oil over medium heat. Slide in 1 chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Drop in 11/2 pounds ground round. Cook, breaking up meat, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 chopped tomato, 2 finely chopped cloves garlic, 11/4 teaspoons ground coriander; 11/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper and 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato paste and 11/3 cups water. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.