Pumpkin with shrimp

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 400 g pumpkin flesh, prepared and weighed
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 chili pepper(s), red, hot
• 2 m.-large tomato(s)
• 1 tsp salt
• some pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• ½ lime(s), juice
• 125 ml water, approx.
• n.e. Shrimp(s), cooked or raw

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

Deseed, slice, and peel the pumpkin. The pumpkin should fall apart when cooked, so it’s best to peel Hokkaido pumpkin as well. Cut the pumpkin wedges crosswise into thin slices. Dice the onion and chop the garlic. Remove the seeds and membranes from the chili pepper, cut into thin strips, and finely dice the strips. Finely dice the tomatoes. Heat a little oil in a large pan and sauté the onion for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and chili (choose the amount according to taste and the spiciness of the pepper) and sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the tomatoes to the onions, mix well, and cook covered over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes are soft, mash them slightly, e.g., with a spoon. Stir in the pumpkin, herbs, and spices and cook covered for about 10 minutes. Add 125 ml of water and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft and easy to mash. If the pumpkin is too moist, bring to a boil and evaporate the water over high heat while stirring. Season with salt, pepper, lime juice, and sugar, add the shrimp, and let it marinate briefly. Fry raw shrimp before adding them to the pumpkin; cooked shrimp can simply be heated in the pumpkin. The cooking time depends on the type of pumpkin and the thickness of the pumpkin slices. Serve with some bread, rice, or Indian flatbread. It’s worth trying a different type of pumpkin than the ubiquitous Hokkaido. The pumpkin flesh should be deep orange and sweet, so don’t use a ton of pumpkin or a carving pumpkin. I’ve used Ibiza from Kürbishof and Sweet Mama from the supermarket.