I had half a [Marina di Chioggia] pumpkin left over after making my pumpkin gnocchi the other day. I decided to roast it up and layer on the flavors.

I simply tossed the pumpkin wedges in olive oil, maple syrup, chile flakes and sea salt and roasted in the oven until tender and caramelized. The chile flakes were from an assortment of chiles I had smoked earlier and then ground up. The sweet maple syrup and the smoky chile took the squash to another level.

From there I loaded up on an assortment of condiments — spiced yogurt, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses (I love its tartness) and scattering of pomegranate seeds for crunch, a splash of chile oil (I always keep on hand), a few spoonfuls of herbaceous zhoug (this batch had some heat) and lastly, a sprinkling of thinly sliced scallions.

Salty, sweet, spicy, tart, tangy…it’s got a lot going on.

These are the chiles I smoked and then ground up. They were an assortment of red jalapeños, poblano and Espelette chiles. That being said, you can play around with different varieties of chile flakes, such as Aleppo, Urfa, Marash, even Korean Gochugaru flakes with a dash of chipotle for smokiness.

There’s a plethora of chile flakes out there to explore…

Chile-Maple Roasted Pumpkin

To Roast the Pumpkin:
1 pound pumpkin/winter squash, sliced into 1-inch wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon chile flakes (such as Aleppo, Urfa, Marash, even Korean Gochugaru flakes with a dash of chipotle for smokiness); just make sure they’re flakes and NOT powder
sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the pumpkin with oil, maple syrup, chile flakes and salt. Spread the pumpkin on the baking sheet. Roast 30 minutes, flipping the pumpkin halfway through.

To serve:
Yogurt (recipe below)
Zhoug (recipe below)
Chile oil
Pomegranate molasses
Pomegranate seeds
Thinly sliced scallions, green parts only

Place pumpkin on a serving dish. Top with yogurt, zhoug, chile oil, pomegranate molasses and seeds and sliced scallions.

Yogurt
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 tablespoon chile flakes
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Zhoug
1 cup cilantro
1/2 cup parsley
2 jalapeños or serrano chiles or 1 to 2 Thai bird’s eye chiles
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Squeeze of lemon

Place the cilantro, parsley, chiles, garlic, cumin, cardamom, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well combined. Add the olive oil in a steady stream and continue to pulse until smooth, but slightly chunky. Add lemon juice to taste.

Chile Oil
2 tablespoons chile flakes
½ cup oil
2 cloves garlics, smashed lightly with side of knife
pinch of sea salt

Place the chile flakes in a heatproof bowl. Place the oil and smashed garlic in a small pot. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Carefully pour the hot oil over the chile flakes. Add a pinch of salt. Let steep for at least 30 minutes. It will taste even better after a day or two. I store in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.