Tajine de potiron et de dinde

We've been processing, preserving, cooking, and eating pumpkin every day for at least a week now. Walt grew pumpkins in our 2020 vegetable garden and we harvested a big crop of jumbo specimens — pumpkins are potirons in French. We gave two of them to some American friends who live five miles upriver from us, and another to our part-time neighbors who live in Blois. Just a day or two ago I gave one to some new neighbors who recently came to live in our hamlet.

With the pumpkins we've kept — and there is still one ripening that we haven't even cut into yet — we've made a few pints of pumpkin-tomato enchilada sauce with chili powder, onions, and garlic; a few pints of pumpkin-tomato sauce for pizzas and pasta, with oregano, garlic, and onion; and a savory pumpkin cake with bacon, spices, and cheese. We've also cooked some as one of the vegetables in a couscous, along with turnips, carrots, green beans, bell peppers, and artichoke hearts. Yesterday I decided to make a Moroccan-style tajine with pumpkin, onions, spices, dried apricots and prunes, and chunks of turkey breast meat. Here's a slideshow made up of nine pictures of that process.

Here's how you make it: Put 8 or 10 dried apricots and, optionally, a few prunes in warm water to plump them up. Then cut the turkey breast into cubes and dredge them in 3 or 4 tablespoons of tajine spices (see below). Sauté the turkey cubes in olive oil and then take them out of the pan (a wok is good, or a big skillet) and put them in a warm oven while you slice and cook a couple of onions in the pan that still has a little olive oil and some of the spices in it — add more oil or spices if you want, and add in a couple of tablespoons of honey. (You can make this with chicken too, of course.)

Add the re-hydrated apricots and prunes to the sautéed onions and pour a cup or so of water into the pan. Let all that cook together, covered, for a few minutes and then add the sautéed turkey plus some more water — just enough to barely cover the cubes of turkey meat. Reduce the heat to low and let the turkey, onions, and fruit simmer for 30 or 40 minutes. Toward the end of that cooking time, add a cup or so of cooked (canned) chickpeas.

Meanwhile, peel a big wedge piece of pumpkin (or abutternut or other winter squash) and cut the flesh into cubes. Melt some butter in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the cubes of pumpkin until they start to brown a little. When the turkey and onions are braised and tender, add the pumpkin cubes and let them cook for 15 minutes or until they're completely tender too. Stir everything together gently and serve hot with steamed rice, millet, or couscous "grain" (which is actually a form of pasta).

P.S. In the past I've posted about tajines many times. See those posts by clicking on this link and scrolling down. I also once posted a recipe for making your own tajine blend of powdered spices, known as ras-el-hanout ("the cook's blend"), which I found in the Joy of Cooking. Here it is again:

• 2 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. each black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp. each cloves and powdered cayenne pepper (or more)