In the Edited Guide there are various recipes that use pumpkin as an ingredient, including spiced pumpkin cookies, pumpkin dumplings, and pumpkin pie. Here's another tasty way of cooking with pumpkin.

Ingredients

All measurements are approximate – feel free to alter as you go along.

• Sheets of ready-to-bake lasagne
• Some pumpkin, eg 1/3 large Japanese pumpkin (orange flesh, green or grey skin), skinned and chunked
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the cheese sauce:

• 25g (1oz) butter
• 25g (1oz) flour
• 750ml (1½ pints) milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 200g (8oz) grated cheese – as strong as you like

Method

1. Fry the sliced onion and garlic in olive oil until just brown.
2. Add chunks of pumpkin, cumin power, salt and pepper.
3. Add a little water and allow the pumpkin to cook until soft.
4. Mash the mixture roughly using a fork.
5. In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the flour.
6. Mix well, off the heat.
7. Put back on the heat and gradually add the milk, stirring to prevent lumps.
8. Once it's gently bubbling, add the cheese (keeping a handful back to put on the top of the dish). Remove from the heat.
9. Spoon 1/3 of the pumpkin mixture into the bottom of a lasagne dish.
10. Cover with single sheets of lasagne.
11. Spoon 1/3 of the cheese sauce over the top.
12. Repeat until all the mixture and sauce are in the dish. Sprinkle remaining grated cheese over the top.
13. Bake at 190°C for 35 minutes.

Variations in spices are interesting. Add chilli powder or chilli flakes for a bit of a kick, or use ground coriander to give it a more robust flavour.

Herbs can be added for another variation. Rosemary works particularly well, as do chopped mint and parsley.