PUMPKIN, SPROUT AND SAGE ‘TRUFFLES’ WITH DUKKHA

My three-year-old wolfs these down, so I can say with confidence that it is a family-friendly recipe. However, it does take time to prepare and is more of a weekend dish. Be sure to use pumpkin/ squash that has a dry flesh, as this will give you a malleable mixture and not a sloppy mess. The dukkha recipe makes about two cups of deliciousness to sprinkle on salads, avocado toasties or baked bananas, or with olive oil as a dip for crusty bread.

Ingredients (makes 24) For the truffles:

1 medium dry-fleshed pumpkin or squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into medium dice ½tbsp grapeseed oil, or melted coconut oil or ghee, plus extra for frying ½tsp caraway seeds 120g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and very thinly sliced 40g dried cranberries, roughly chopped Sea salt

For the dukkha:

125g shelled, unroasted hazelnuts 1tbsp cumin seeds, toasted in a dry frying pan until fragrant 1tbsp ground coriander 50g sesame seeds, toasted in a dry frying pan until golden 1tbsp (heaped) dried mint (or use the contents of a mint tea bag) 2tsp black onion (nigella) seeds 1tsp sea salt ½tsp freshly ground black

pepper (or less if feeding children) 2tsp dulse flakes (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Toss the pumpkin in the oil or ghee and some salt, then spread out on a baking tray in a single layer and roast for 30-50 minutes, turning the pieces once, until caramelised and dry roasted. If the pumpkin looks as though it is still steaming (or sweating), roast for a further 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool before mashing until smooth; transfer to a bowl.

2 While the pumpkin is baking, spread the hazelnuts out on a baking tray and roast for 10-15 minutes. Rub between two clean tea towels to remove the skins, then leave to cool. Finely chop the cooled hazelnuts in the small bowl of a food processor, until there are no large pieces but they still retain lots of texture. Alternatively, use a sharp knife. Mix with all the other dukkha ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

3 Heat oil or ghee in a pan and fry the caraway seeds until fragrant. Add the sprouts and cook, stirring, until tender. Tip out onto a chopping board and chop finely. Mix with the cranberries and mashed pumpkin and add salt. 4Scoop

small amounts of pumpkin mixture into your hand and roll into balls. If it feels too moist to roll, add a few spoonfuls of quinoa or fine oat flakes until manageable. 5Pour

some dukkha into a soup bowl and roll the truffles in it until covered. Continue until all truffles are coated, then serve.