Squash & Pumpkin recipes

A deeply comforting South Indian-inspired dhal where pumpkin is cooked down into the lentils until it becomes almost part of the sauce itself — adding a natural sweetness that balances the tamarind and spices perfectly. Finished with a sizzling tarka of curry leaves, mustard seeds and crispy fried shallots, this is weeknight food that tastes like you spent the whole afternoon on it. Serve with flatbreads or plain basmati rice and something green.

A fast one-pan supper that makes the most of pre-prepped or shop-bought diced squash — squash pieces sizzle alongside chunks of chorizo and chickpeas in a smoky tomato sauce. The whole thing comes together in under 30 minutes and is the sort of meal that tastes like it's been simmering all afternoon. Serve straight from the pan with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

A rustic free-form pastry tart filled with thin-sliced squash layered over a smear of crème fraîche and buried under melted Gruyère and fresh thyme. The pastry is rough and golden-edged, the filling rich and slightly sweet, and the whole thing looks far more impressive than the effort involved justifies. It is the sort of thing to make on a Saturday when you have an hour and want something that feels genuinely celebratory.

Roasted squash forms the backbone of this deeply savoury ramen broth — blitzed directly into the stock with white miso and ginger to create a rich, silky base that clings to the noodles like a dream. This is proper weeknight ramen: not a pale imitation of the restaurant version, but a genuinely satisfying bowlful that comes together in under an hour. The soft-boiled egg, with its jammy yolk, is not optional.