Pumpkin chips with tangy breadcrumbs

Pumpkin was traditionally very common among rural communities throughout Italy, where it would be made into pasta dishes, soups, stews, risottos, gnocchi or simply sautéed. Here I have given it a modern twist and transformed it into chips topped with a tangy breadcrumb topping, though you could simply sprinkle it with some salt, black pepper, some chopped rosemary or even chilli powder if you prefer. It is great as a side dish, as a snack for children or even served at parties.

file:1428_sbs-pumpkin-chips-recipe.jpg

• serves

  4

Ingredients

80g dried breadcrumbs (see method)

1 garlic clove, very finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary needles, very finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black

Pepper

600g pumpkin

Plain flour, for dusting

Sunflower oil, for frying

Instructions

To make the breadcrumbs, place some sliced stale bread on a bakingtray and bake in the oven at 120°C/Gas ½ for about an hour to dry outcompletely. Remove from the oven and chop very finely or whiz in afood processor. Store in an airtight container until needed.

In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, garlic, rosemary and a littlesalt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut the pumpkin into 2-3mm slices and dust in flour, shaking off anyexcess. Pour enough sunflower oil into a frying pan to cover the basegenerously, add the pumpkin slices and fry for a couple of minutesuntil golden. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Place on a plate,sprinkle over the breadcrumb topping and serve.

This is an extract from the book Two Greedy Italians by Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.