Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year because it’s the season of the pumpkin. I love carving jack-o-lanterns, toasting pumpkin seeds, making (and eating) pumpkin pie, and smothering my face in a yummy, tingly pumpkin mask (does anyone remember The Great Pumpkin Mask that Sephora made some years ago? Heaven in a jar…).
Some years ago, my mother-in-law gave me yet another reason to delight in the season with a recipe for kabak tatlIsI, a Turkish pumpkin sweet. It’s easy – and its sweetness can be easily tailored to your own taste.
Here’s hoping the Great Kabak TatlIsI makes it to your pumpkin patch this year!
Ingredients
- ~3 pounds of pie pumpkin
- 1 1/2 tea glasses of sugar (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 glass of water (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 glass of crushed walnuts (about 1/2 cup)
- whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
- peel and slice the pumpkin into thick wedges; set seeds aside for roasting, if desired
- arrange wedges into a shallow saucepan
- add sugar, add water to pumpkin
- cover and simmer for ~30-40 minutes – pumpkin should be tender but should not break apart at the least provocation…
- plate, pour over sugar syrup, sprinkle with walnuts…and enjoy!
My own mother likes to add a dollop of whipped cream before the nuts…and since it’s a holiday, anything goes!
Mercimek in the Oven 