IT'S PUMPKIN TIME.

And I'm too scared not to go along with it.

No, I did not just say the word H*ll*w**n out loud. Didn’t even think it. Life is scary enough without having to hang spiders and skeletons from the ceiling.

Ah, but pumpkins are another matter, with their sweet, golden, glowing flesh. How could you not love something that looks like this? 

Le Creuset, your new 24 cm cast iron pumpkin casserole is adorable.

I’m a bigger fan of butternut squash than pumpkin, truth be told. It’s sweeter and nuttier, and a lot easier to handle and prep. Buy it in halves, and all you have to do is chuck it in the oven.

Roast it, and you can eat it with the skin, it’s divine.

Roast it, and you can hollow out the seeds with ease.

If you want a pumpkin puree for something, don’t peel, chop and boil. You’ll only end up in a bad mood.  Instead, roast it and just scoop the soft flesh out of the shell. Then consider whisking in butter, nutmeg and sea salt and piling it back into the shell to serve.

All this got me thinking about former Sepia chef Martin Benn’s butternut with roasted chilli oil and burrata in the very seductive The Dinner Party cook book he has done with his partner Vicki Wild. What a cool idea, to roast halves of butternut then scoop out the seeds and fill the hollow with something cheesy, gooey and creamy.

Pic: The fabulous Kristoffer Paulsen

So I set myself the task of coming up with something else with which you could fill the hollow.

In my mind, I saw lightly cooked bright orange lentils (masoor dal) done as a sunny, lemony salad spilling over the sides… or quinoa, pumpkin and dried apricots … or a mix of wild rice and brown rice bejewelled with pomegranate seeds and cranberries and drizzled with tahini yoghurt.

Reader, I did none of these things, for verily, I ran out of time. Then Terry suggested filling the hole with a meatball, which is truly the sort of genius move only a bloke could make.

So we had meatball-stuffed butternuts with tomato sugo and plenty of grated parmesan over the top, and It Was Good.

What makes it work for me is the ratio of meat to vegetable is held back, and that each makes the other taste better. What makes it work for Terry, is he gets meatballs.

But really, this invitingly empty void is calling your name. Fill it howsoever you wish. You may have some left-over beef stew in the fridge, or a vegetable curry, or fried rice.

Your hole. Your call.

Tip: Serve with greens or a salad. I finely shredded spinach and tossed in olive oil and lemon juice; soft and fresh.

Tip: You can roast the seeds, salted, alongside and use them as a garnish. Any pumpkin trimmings can go into soups or dips.

Tip: I threw a few panko crumbs on top of the meatball in cse it didn’t brown, but it did, anyway, so ignore them.

Tip: Sub in spicy chorizo with your pork sausage for a great meatball mix.

Tip: Butternuts come in various sizes – for this you just want normal to small, so that you could give each person a half without freaking them out.

If you can only get a very big one, as I did during the testing process, whack it in half with a Chinese cleaver and roast it for two hours, cut-side down, then cut it lengthwise into thick layers, as you can see above. It’s rather nice having that single layer of pumpkin, retained by its outline of skin, like the walls of a feudal city.

ROAST BUTTERNUT WITH MEATBALL

Makes two.

• 2 small butternut squash halves

• Olive oil and sea salt

• Quick tomato sugo (see below)

• Parmesan for grating

Easy meatballs:

• 4 good pork sausages

• 1 tbsp panko crumbs

• 2 tbsp grated parmigiano

• 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 190C. Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the cut sides of the butternut, then rub with sea salt and olive oil.

Place cut-side down on a baking tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or up to 2 hours, depending on size, until soft but still firm.

Make the meatball mixture – skin the sausages and smoosh the meat in your hands with the panko, parmesan and parsley. Form into two big meatballs.

Remove the butternut and allow to cool enough to handle. Scoop out the seeds and use the spoon to form a nice round hole for the meatball.

Plonk a meatball into each hollow, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes at 200C until the meatball is cooked through and the whole thing is tanned and sizzling.

Spoon on some tomato sugo, grate parmesan all over the top, and serve.

DON’T FORGET THE TOMATO SUGO

• 400g canned tomatoes, chopped

• a good glug of tomato passato

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 150 ml water

• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced

• Dried oregano

• Pinch of dried chilli pepper

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Just chuck it all in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring when you pass by.

I think I love the handle the most.

Thanks for dropping by! And as always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Thanks to Marty for the inspiration, Le Creuset for the imagery, and Terry for the serving suggestion; it was both a trick and a treat.

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I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to the continuing strength and resilience of First Nations people, communities and cultures.