Baked pumpkin

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 small butternut squash, approx. 1 kg
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• some salt
• 300 g yogurt, Greek
• 3 tbsp sesame paste (tahini), or more if you like
• ½ lemon(s), juice
• some chili powder
• some cumin powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• some orange pepper, freshly ground
• 1 clove(s) garlic, squeezed

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 4 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 5 hours 15 minutes

With sesame yogurt sauce

Mix the listed ingredients into a sauce and let it steep for several hours. Stir occasionally and season to taste. Stir in a little more sesame paste to taste. Preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Wash the pumpkin, halve or quarter it, and scrape out the seeds and fibers with a spoon. Place the pumpkin pieces skin-side down in a baking dish or on a baking sheet. Lightly score the flesh with a knife, drizzle 50-100 ml of water over the pumpkin, and season lightly with salt. Bake in the hot oven for about 40 minutes, until the flesh is almost soft. Sprinkle with a little water occasionally to help the pumpkin cook better. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the pumpkin and finish baking. Serve the hot pumpkin with the yogurt sauce, either on its own or with, for example, pan-fried meat or meatballs. The baking time is a guideline and can vary depending on the pumpkin and the oven’s heating characteristics. It’s best to check the pumpkin’s tenderness with a fork during cooking. You can also peel the pumpkin and cut it into wedges before baking. This significantly reduces the baking time.