Pumpkin tirshy with spiced olives

PUMPKIN TIRSHY WITH SPICED OLIVES AND CORIANDER

From Bubala: Middle-Eastern Inspired Vegetarian Recipes to Share by Marc Summers photography by Patricia Niven 

Honest Toil has been the olive oil of choice at Bubala from the very beginning: a cooperation we're super proud of. Upon the release of their cookbook, they were kind enough to share this recipe with us to celebrate together! To make this dip even more delicious, you'll also find Bubala's signature confit garlic and preserved lemon recipes below.

Tirshy is a flavourful Moroccan dip made with mashed pumpkin or squash (in this case we have used the sweet delica variety), blended with warm spices and olive oil. It’s smooth, creamy, and packed with aromatic flavours.

VEGAN

SERVES 4

½ delica pumpkin (about 400–450g/14oz–1lb)

1 butternut squash (about 1kg/2lb 4oz)

2 tbsp Honest toil olive oil

3 tbsp plus 1 tsp pumpkin stock (see method)

10g (¼oz) Confit Garlic cloves (about 3 cloves, see recipe below)

5 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

3½ tsp cumin seeds, coarsely ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

20g (¾oz) rose harissa

zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, to serve

drizzle of Honest toil olive oil, to serve

For the spiced olives

250g (9oz) olives (a mix of Kalamata and green), stones (pits) removed

½ tsp chilli flakes

¼ tsp dried rose petals, ground to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

⅓ tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp Preserved Lemon Purée (see below)

2 tbsp Honest toil

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan/350ºF/Gas mark 4. Line a baking tray.

Peel, then dice the pumpkin and squash into 5cm (2in) pieces (reserve the seeds), toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread out on the prepared tray, cover with foil and roast for 30 minutes, or until golden and the tip of a knife passes easily through the flesh. Allow to cool a little, then transfer to a blender.

To make the pumpkin stock, put the pumpkin seeds in a pan with 1 litre (35fl oz) of water, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, discard the seeds and set the liquid aside.

Add the measured pumpkin stock and the remaining ingredients to the blender containing the roasted squash and blend until smooth. Add a little more of the pumpkin stock if needed to get the desired texture and smoothness.

For the spiced olives, finely chop the olives, then mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

To serve, spoon the pumpkin purée onto a dish and top with 3 tablespoons of the spiced olives. Garnish with fresh coriander and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

CONFIT GARLIC

This simple process of cooking the garlic slowly results in very soft, very sweet cloves, and a highly flavoured oil. Both are used in a number of recipes throughout this book, such as s Labneh with Confit Garlic and Za’atar and Onion Squash with Red and Green Zhoug and Kataifi, so this is a good one to have in your fridge. It can be used to improve any salad dressing, or as an alternative to raw garlic that gives a sweeter, more rounded flavour.

Makes 500g (1lb 2oz)

3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

125ml (4fl oz) olive oil

125ml (4fl oz) rapeseed (canola) oil

250g (9oz) garlic (from about 6 heads), cloves peeled

½ tsp flaky sea salt

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat (canola) oil

to low and cook gently until the garlic is soft and the tip of a knife passes through with little resistance and the oil is fragrant, about 35 minutes.

Allow to cool, transfer to a sterilised glass jar and store, covered in the fridge, for up to one month.

PRESERVED LEMONS

Makes 240g (8½oz)

2 unwaxed lemons

2 tsp flaky sea salt

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked

200ml (7fl oz) rapeseed (canola) oil

Top and tail the lemons, then slice very finely. Layer the slices in a glass jar or plastic container, sprinkling salt and rosemary leaves evenly on every layer. Once you’ve used all the lemon slices and rosemary, pour over the oil, ensuring all the slices are completely submerged. Cover and keep in the fridge for two weeks before use.

The lemons will keep covered in the fridge under a thin layer of oil for up to

3 months.

For the preserved lemon purée

45g (1½oz) Preserved Lemons pips (seeds) removed

1 tsp lemon juice

For the preserved lemon purée, blitz the preserved lemon and the lemon juice in a blender until smooth. Set aside.