Glazed pumpkin, sprout crumble and leek gratin: Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for Thanksgiving sides

Pumpkin topped with a nutty, citrussy rubble, a chestnut-and-lardon crumble to add crunch to garlicky sprouts, and creamy leeks with an anchovy-and-walnut crumb

 

Yotam Ottolenghi

Published in The Guardian Sat 19 Nov 2022 10.00 GMT

Last modified on Wed 9 Oct 2024 15.44 BST

 

Whether it’s at Thanksgiving or otherwise, the best parts of many feasts are often the things served up on the side. They can often be made ahead, happy to wait around for the centrepiece to get ready, and tend to be much more full of flavour and texture than the main event, too. That’s not to say this is an either/or situation, though: the roast needs the sides and the sides need the roast. Which is just one more thing to be thankful for when sitting down to any celebratory meal.

Glazed pumpkin with tahini and pecan gremolata

 

The use of chickpea flour here is a neat trick: it helps the marinade adhere to the pumpkin better and creates a nice spicy crust. If you don’t have any to hand, though, simply omit it. All the toppings can be made ahead of time, ready for the dish to be assembled at the last minute, but add the lime juice to the gremolata only just before serving.

Prep 25 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4-6

Ingredi

 

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin, skin on, cut in half widthways, deseeded and cut into 3cm-wide wedges (600g)
2 red onions (320g), peeled and cut into 3cm wedges
1 tbsp rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
¼ tsp chipotle chilli flakes, or hot chilli flakes
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp light brown sugar
½ tsp chickpea flour (AKA gram flour – optional)
Salt
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

For the balsamic and date glaze
70ml balsamic vinegar
50ml date syrup

For the gremolata
50g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
15g mint leaves, roughly chopped
15g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 lime, zest finely grated, to get ½ tsp, then juiced, to get 2 tsp

 

For the tahini sauce
60g tahini
1 

 

tsp lime juice

Method

First, make the glaze. Put the balsamic and date syrup in a small saucepan with an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, leave to bubble for two minutes, then take off the heat.

Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Put the pumpkin, onion, rosemary, spices, sugar, gram flour, if using, and half a teaspoon of salt in a large roasting tray and toss to coat evenly. Pour in the oil, toss again, then roast for 20 minutes. Gently stir in the garlic, roast for another 10 minutes, then drizzle over two tablespoons of the glaze and roast for a final two minutes. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put the tahini, lime juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, gradually whisk in 45ml cold water until you have a silky sauce, then set aside.

Just before serving, combine all the gremolata ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange the pumpkin mix on a large, lipped platter, spoon the tahini sauce all over the top and drizzle over the remaining glaze. Serve topped with the gremolata.