Cheesy pumpkin bites with salsa
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Spooky season has arrived and the scariest part for me is the pure amount of pumpkin that gets binned and not eaten. Eat your pumpkins people!
If you’ve got some spare innards going to waste, you can either store in the freezer for a later date or you could make my pumpkin and feta no-sausage rolls or my spiced pumpkin holes for a sweet treat. Covering your sweet and savoury options here. Plus, you can wash and roast the seeds for an extra lil healthy snack.
These particular bites are cheesy, tangy and ideal for any horror themed nights, so get em made and feel good about yourself for not just scooping and binning.
For more snack inspo, check out more of my recipes here.
Ingredients
metric imperial
For the pumpkin bites
- 1/2 a pumpkin, peeled
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley and basil
- 50g grated hard cheese such as Parmesan or pecorino
- Salt and pepper, to season
For the salsa
- 4 large tomatoes, quartered
- 1 onion, quartered
- 7 cloves of garlic
- 1 red chilli, with half of the seeds (or less depending on how hot you like it)
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- Plenty of salt and pepper
Method
- Get your oven preheated to 190c.
- Top and tail your pumpkin, then work your way around removing the skin. Then cut in 1/2 and remove all the seeds (you can wash and roast these later).
- Chop half the pumpkin into cubes and the other half can be cut and stored in a bag for the freezer - ready to use when you want to.
- In a bowl, add your chopped pumpkin, oil, spices and remaining seasoning. Mix well.
- Place on a baking tray in a single layer and roast for 30 minutes.
- Whilst that's in the oven, get all the ingredients for the salsa also in the oven on a tray and roast.
- After 30 minutes, add the cheese and herbs to the pumpkin and turn the cubes over. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes.
- For the salsa, once everything is toasted, add it to the blender, removing the herb stalks and adding sugar and vinegar. Blend until smooth, but keep it a bit chunky if preferred.
- Serve alongside the roasted pumpkin bites and ENJOY!