Best of Budapest & Hungary

Pumpkin is delicious, healthy and versatile - and it is in season. Enjoy our favourite recipes for the autumn's most iconic vegetable, and do not forget to save a few pumpkins for your Halloween party.

Warm pumpkin and walnut salad 

Ingredients:

• 1 small pumpkin, cut into cubes
• 50ml vegetable oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100ml clear honey
• 75ml cider vinegar
• 150 g walnuts, chopped
• handful pumpkin seeds
• handful fresh watercress leaves
• 1 shallot, peeled, finely sliced
• 125g feta, crumbled, to serve

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the pumpkin into a roasting tray. Drizzle over the vegetable oil, sprinkle season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until softened. Meanwhile, heat the honey and cider vinegar in a small frying pan over a medium heat, or until dissolved. Stir in the walnuts until well combined.
Mix together the watercress leaves, shallot, roasted pumpkin and pumpkin seeds until well combined. Drizzle over the honey and vinegar mixture and stir until the leaves are coated in the dressing. Sprinkle over the crumbled feta. Serve immediately!

Pumpkin and rosemary muffins

Ingredients (for 12 pieces):

• 80ml vegetable oil
• 200g  flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
• 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 100ml plain yoghurt
• 275ml milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• 240g cooked pumpkin, cut into ½cm cubes
• handful pumpkin seeds

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the salt and rosemary. Meanwhile in another bowl, mix the eggs, yoghurt, milk, honey and vegetable oil until well combined. Add pumpkin cubes. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold the ingredients together, but be careful not to over-work the mixture. Oil the muffin tin, and por in the mixture. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the muffins. Bake in the center of the oven for 20–25 minutes.

Click here for more pumpkin-focused recipes!