PUMPKIN SEASON : Baked pumpkin with chestnuts and green olives

A nice and simple, but definitely tasty and nutritious vegetarian recipe to enjoy during the Winter! Pumpkin and chestnuts, two of the most popular ingredients during the cold months come together in a very tasty combination and the addition of the green olives gives to the dish an extra kick to the final taste! It is a quite filling dish but you could also serve it as a side dish to various game and poultry dishes

Slightly adapted from a recipe of Dimitris Andreou

"Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 6-8 people):
2Kg of pumpkin

½ a glass of extra virgin olive oil

3 bay leaves

1 bunch of Spring onions, finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic, cut in thin slices

1 small hot red chili pepper, finely chopped (not seeds)

200 gr. of chestnuts, peeled (half boiled or roasted)

100 gr. of green olives, pitted
½ a glass of white dry wine (optional)

salt
pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the olives in a bowl filled with water and soak for 1 hour so to discard as much of their saltiness as possible, changing the water 2-3 times during this hour.

In the meantime, peel the pumpkin and cut in big cubes or chunks.

In a spacious oven pan with a lid (or preferably in a clay pot dish) arrange all the ingredients and pour over with the wine (if used). Toss with your hands, season with salt and pepper and pour with the olive oil. *** If the chestnuts are too big cut in half. Don't add any water in the pan at all, the pumpkin will release its juices and that will be enough.

Cover with the lid and put in the oven.

Cook until the pumpkin and the chestnuts are softened and the food is left with its oily sauce. *** Don't stir the food while cooking, allowing the vegetables to hold their shape.

Serve while it is still hot.