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Winter squash and kimchi chickpeas

While I relish the sweetness of squash, I think it’s better when tempered with enthusiastic savouriness and heat. In this recipe, I’ve added kimchi, gochujang and nutritional yeast to balance and challenge the sweetness.

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A bowl of chickpea curry topped with crumbled cheese and chopped fresh cilantro, served in a white ceramic bowl on a light surface.

Note: In Australia, Winter squash is known collectively as pumpkin, a term that encompasses all the varieties. For the purposes of this recipe, I’ll refer to it as Winter Squash, but for Aussies, I’m talking about pumpkin.

I’ve cooked the Winter squash the way my mum showed me, with a few cloves of crushed garlic, a splash of water, lid on, low heat. The cooking method is not only easy, but it also traps in all the flavors, and renders the flesh extra creamy, gently scented with the garlic which melts away into the Winter squash.

The Winter squash is tossed with chickpeas to create a hearty bean stew. It’s an earnest dish, rich with earthiness, and extremely comforting.

For those who are looking for a protein packed vegan dish, this is a great example.

Winter squash (pumpkin) and kimchi chickpeas

Serves

Ingredients

extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peel removed
900 g winter squash / pumpkin such as honey nut or butternut, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 2-3 cm (1-inch) chunks
sea salt and black pepper
375 ml vegetable stock
2 (15.5-ounces / 440g) cans chickpeas, drained
200 g vegan cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped (no need to drain)
1 to 2 tablespoons gochujang paste, to your liking
30 g nutritional paste or grated cheese
200 g vegan or dairy feta, crumbled, for serving (optional)
chopped coriander or parsley leaves, to serve
bread, for serving

Instructions

Heat a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. When hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and then the smashed garlic, and allow that to sizzle for 30-45 seconds until fragrant. Add the squash/pumpkin and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Pour in ½ cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover and stir the squash/pumpkin and garlic to break everything up. If it looks dry, add another 1/4 cup of water. Cover again and cook until the squash/pumpkin is completely tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir again until it’s roughly mashed. Add the vegetable stock, chickpeas, kimchi and gochujang and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.
Stir in the nutritional yeast (or cheese). Season with salt and black pepper.
Top with feta (if using), and herbs and eat as is as a stew or with bread on the side.

Tips and Variations

Other legumes would work too so try cannellini or butterbeans.

The Winter squash could easily have been thinned down with more stock/water and tossed with pasta (this was my original idea and I encourage you to try it).

A note, this makes a pretty big portion which is by design because I love leftover pumpkin. This is what I did with leftovers: I blended it up (add a bit more water if has thickened up) and then heated it with grated cheddar cheese, added pasta and it turned into a pumpkin-y Mac and cheese. Big hit!