Pumpkin with walnuts and feta in filo pastry

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g pumpkin flesh from Hokkaido pumpkin
• 1 small onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 50 g shelled walnuts
• olive oil
• 2 tsp oregano, dried
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp paprika powder, hot
• 100 ml water
• salt and pepper
• Sugar or agave syrup
• 1 roll(s) of filo or strudel dough (300 g each)
• 100 g feta cheese

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

vegetarian

Dice the onion, finely chop the garlic, and sauté both in a little olive oil until translucent. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, add to the onions, and roast briefly. Add the spices (oregano, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper), then the water; simmer until the pumpkin is almost soft. Now remove about half of the pumpkin mixture from the pot and sauté the rest until very soft. You may need to add a little more water. When the pumpkin is soft, purée briefly and add back the previously removed pumpkin pieces. Chop the walnuts, reserving about 1.5 tablespoons for the topping, stir the rest into the mixture, and remove the pot from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and, if desired, a little sugar or agave syrup. Remove the filo pastry from the package. I used 7 sheets in the package. Prepare a pan (I used a 24cm diameter pan) or a tart dish. Something with a removable rim is probably best, making it easier to remove the pie from the tin; otherwise, you’ll have to cut it in the tin. Now brush the filo sheets individually with a little olive oil using your hands and place them in the tin as the base. Slightly crumple the sheets to reduce their surface area, and place them in the pan so that they overlap slightly. I used 3 sheets for the base; they should extend slightly over the rim. Roughly crumble the feta and fold it into the pumpkin mixture. Spread the filling in the tin over the filo sheets. Now cover the pie with the remaining 4 sheets. Brush each sheet with a little olive oil, crumple it, and place it on top of the filling to create a folded surface. Scatter the remaining walnuts over the top. Bake the pie for about 25 minutes at 180°C (fan oven). You can eat the pie as a small dinner with a salad, or it’s suitable as a starter; in that case, it’s sure to serve more than 4 people. It also looks great on a brunch buffet, as it looks quite impressive.