Recipe of the week

Bedtime pudding with tahini cream

During hot summer nights, people in the Turkish city of Kastamonu gorge on ice cream. But in the winter, locals switch to kabak tatlısı, candied pumpkin with walnuts, a warming bedtime treat, says Caroline Eden Serves 4 1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into matchbox-sized rectangles, about 5cm x 3.5cm, and 1.5cm thick (butternut squash can be used as an alternative) 250g caster sugar juice of 1 lemon 1 tbsp tahini 4 tbsps Turkish kaymak, crème fraiche or clotted cream 225g walnuts, toasted and roughly crushed, to serve • Spread the pumpkin out evenly in a high-sided roasting dish. Pour over the sugar, toss the pumpkin to coat it evenly, then add the lemon juice and toss again. Cover the dish with a tea towel and let it rest overnight. • The following day, the sugar should have dissolved and the pumpkin should have released its juices, leaving a good amount of liquid in the tray. Preheat the oven to 180°C, uncover the tray and toss the pumpkin in the liquid so it is evenly coated. • Bake for 1 hour, regularly spooning over the juices so the pieces are evenly candied. Remove from the oven and, using a slotted spoon, spread the pumpkin on a plate, let it cool, then place it in a serving bowl. • In a separate bowl, stir the tahini through the cream. Serve the pumpkin with spoonfuls of the tahini cream and crushed walnuts on top. Taken from Black Sea by Caroline Eden, published by Quadrille at £25. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £19.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit

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