Candied Pumpkin with Crushed Walnuts

kabak tatlisi

with a twist…

 It’s pumpkin season! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes…autumn comes and we can’t seem to get enough of this humble gourd and its associated flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

This chewy, sweet, candied pumpkin from Turkey is a perfect addition to your list of pumpkin favorites. It makes for a satisfying snack or a light dessert.

Use sugar pumpkins, Cinderella pumpkins, kabocha squash, or butternut squash to make this treat.

Prepare the pumpkin by cutting it open, scraping out all the seeds, cutting it into chunks, and removing the shell. You can also buy it pre-cut to save time and effort. Try to keep the pieces of uniform size so that they cook evenly.

The spices are optional. Use them all, leave out the ones you don’t love (or don’t have), or leave them out entirely to let the pure taste of the pumpkin shine through.

Finish the dish by garnishing each portion with a drizzle of tahini sauce, a spoonful of clotted cream, or a dollop of freshly whipped, lightly sweetened, vanilla whipped cream on top. Or, serve it alongside a scoop of cardamom ice cream** or good vanilla ice cream*** for a somewhat decadent and elegant dessert.

* To make the whipped cream, combine 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with a teaspoon of vanilla paste or 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1—2 tablespoons white sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat on high until soft peaks just begin to form.

** A very simple way to make cardamom ice cream: Allow a container of vanilla ice cream (see below) to be softened enough to stir in the spice, but not completely liquified. It’s better to soften it in the fridge than it is to leave it out for a while. Just check it often to catch it at the right thickness. Then, sprinkle on some cardamom and stir it in so that the spice is evenly dispersed. Re-freeze the ice cream until it’s hard.

*** I’m very picky about vanilla ice cream. I find most commercial vanilla ice cream doesn’t taste of vanilla at all. In my opinion, Hagen-Dazs vanilla is the absolute best commercially available one, if I’m not making my own.

Be aware that making this pumpkin dessert is a two day process. Plan accordingly!

Ingredients:

About 1 ½ to 2 pounds fresh prepared pumpkin chunks, about 2 inches long

1½ cups superfine sugar (or use granulated sugar and give it a woosh in the food processor)

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts (you could also use pistachios)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Optional spices:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

a dash of allspice

a pinch of cloves

a dash of cardamom

Optional toppings:

tahini sauce (very traditional)

clotted cream

lightly sweetened whipped cream

Method:

• In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the spices.

• Line a baking dish with parchment and lay out the pumpkin pieces in a single layer. Choose a dish that just fits the amount of pumpkin you have—if it’s much bigger the pieces won’t absorb the sugar well enougjh.

• Sprinkle them evenly with the spiced sugar.

• Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.

The next day—

• Preheat oven to 350°.

• Take the dish with the pumpkin out of the fridge. You’ll see that the sugar has dissolved into a syrup-y juice.

• Use your hands (or a spoon) to toss the pieces in the sugar again, making sure they’re all covered in the syrup-y juice.

• Cover the pan with a piece of crumpled, dampened (but not dripping wet) parchment paper. Slide the dish into the oven.

• Bake for 30 minutes and turn the pieces over, spooning the juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the dish back over the pumpkin, then re-cover the dish and return it to the oven.

• Bake it for another 15 minutes, then check to see that it’s tender. If not, bake it for a little longer. The kabak tatlisi is done when the pieces are fork tender, but not falling apart.

• Taste a piece. If you’d like it to be sweeter, sprinkle on a little more sugar.

• Remove the parchment and continue baking the until enough of the syrup has been absorbed to leave the pumpkin pieces candied and glistening, while still having syrup around them. Then remove them from the heat. Let them cool in the dish.

• In a skillet, melt the butter and add the chopped walnuts. Cook for a minute or two over medium heat to toast the nuts, then remove them from the pan and set them aside.

  Serve the dessert—divide the pumpkin pieces among dessert bowls and then pour the remaining syrup over them evenly. Sprinkle with the toasted nuts and drizzle them with tahini sauce, clotted cream, or softly whipped cream.

  Kabak tatlisi is best served chilled or at room temperature.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?