Roasted pumpkin with pistachio pesto

“This pesto is so versatile. It goes incredibly well with raw fish or steak, or a shellfish pasta. Pistachio has that beautiful sweetness and I always love using nori in pesto for a bit of flavour background,” says Wood.

A butternut pumpkin split in half lengthwise, roasted, with large chunks of the flesh served inside the roasted half, topped with pistachio pesto — Photo: Alicia Taylor

Serves 6

Prep

25M

Cook

1H 30M

Total

1H 55M

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Ingredients

1 large butternut pumpkin (1.8kg)

2 cups (firmly packed) basil

35 gm (½ cup) finely grated parmesan

2 tbsp nori flakes (see note)

1 garlic clove, crushed

125 ml (½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

50 gm (1/3 cup) roasted pistachios

Method

1.Preheat oven to 200˚C. Using a sharp knife, make a couple of incisions, 2-3cm deep at the end of the pumpkin that contains the seeds. Place pumpkin on an oven tray and roast until softened and skin is lightly browned (11/2 hours). Set aside to cool slightly.

2.Meanwhile, for pesto, blend basil, parmesan, nori flakes, garlic and oil in a blender until finely chopped. Add pistachios; pulse briefly until coarsely chopped, then season to taste.

3.Cut pumpkin in half lengthways; discard seeds. Scoop flesh into large chunks in one half, leaving a 1cm border, then scoop from the second half and pile into the first. Place on a platter, season to taste and top with pesto. Serve with extra pesto on the side.

Nori flakes are available from select supermarkets, Asian and Japanese grocers.
Notes

Phil Wood

Styling by Sophia Young

Ingredients

Method

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