Ingredients
- 650g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes (use a dry-fleshed variety such as Kent)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1 x 400g tin piquillo peppers* or 3 red capsicums, roasted and skinned
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 3 handfuls baby spinach leaves, trimmed of excess stem
- * Piquillo peppers are intensely flavoured and are not grown here to my knowledge. Cans of peeled piquillo in their natural juice are available at Casa Iberica in Johnston Street, Fitzroy, and at other specialist foodstores. Note: If using roasted red capsicums, cut them into wide strips and add at the beginning, at the same time as the pumpkin.
Method
Use a heavy-based frying pan, with lid, that will comfortably hold the cubes of pumpkin in a single layer.
Place the pumpkin cubes in a bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Turn to mix well. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the frying pan and tip in the garlic.When it smells fragrant, quickly add the pumpkin and the bay leaves. Stir to mix. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes.Add the drained peppers, stir gently to mix and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes. Test to check that pumpkin is tender.
Scatter over the spinach leaves, replace lid for 5 minutes, stir to mix the green leaves through the other ingredients and then serve in a warmed shallow bowl. The colours should look absolutely gorgeous - gold, scarlet and green. Drizzle with some extra oil.
