Curried Pumpkin, Cranberries & Chickpeas
Curried pumpkin puree (with curry powder, brown sugar, salt & pepper), beer-caramelized onions (with brown ale, brown sugar & salt), apple-pumpkin roasted chickpeas (with pumpkin pie spice, sugar & apple butter), cranberries cooked in maple syrup, Gruyere cheese
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball of pizza dough flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone olive oil salt & pepper 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (we made this using the leftover pumpkin from last week's post, but you can use canned) ¾ teaspoon curry powder 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries 2/3 cup pure maple syrup 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon apple butter (we made this a little while ago using this recipe) 1 white onion, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons brown sugar (1 for the onions, 1 for the pumpkin) splash of dark beer (like an amber or brown ale) hunk of gruyere cheese, shaved
Directions: Preheat your oven to 375° F. While it’s heating up, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add your onion slices. Once the pan is hot, reduce the heat to low or medium-low and let the onions simmer.
After about 20-30 minutes, you can add a pinch of salt and a couple pinches of brown sugar, and a dash of your dark beer. Let the onions soften and caramelize for a while—I like to let them sit on the heat for at least 45 minutes, if not longer.
Meanwhile, when the oven is hot, you can make your toasted chickpeas. First make sure you’ve drained them well, and blot them with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. In a small bowl, combine a tablespoon of olive oil with your pumpkin spice. Stir well and drizzle over your chickpeas in a medium bowl, tossing to coat evenly.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chickpeas out evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes and then return them to the medium bowl. Coat them with the sugar and apple butter and then scatter them back onto the baking sheet, baking for another 15 minutes. When they’re finished, increase the oven temperature to 550° F.
Next, bring the cranberries and maple syrup to a gentle simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, until the cranberries are soft but have not yet popped, then remove them from the heat.
At this point you can start preparing your dough, using the instructions on the right. Then make your curried pumpkin by combining the puree with the curry powder and brown sugar, plus salt & pepper to taste.
Brush your prepared dough lightly with olive oil and then spread it with the pumpkin base. Add the caramelized onions, followed by the cranberries, chickpeas and cheese shavings. Then pop it back in the oven and let it bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Take it out and it’s ready to eat!