Serves 4

This recipe was developed to pair with the limited edition NON x Maison Balzac 0% beverage which highlights mandarin, lemon thyme and rosemary. Feel free to make it your own by adding or subtracting ingredients as you wish.

Feel free to play this mix by our friend Alex Albrecht whilst cooking. It has been put together especially to compliment the NON x Maison Balzac experience.

Ingredients:

1 large pumpkin (can substitute butternut squash or any other gourd/squash)

1 sprig rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

2 sprigs lemon thyme, leaves removed

300g barley, cooked according to pack instructions (or any other grain, eg quinoa/rice)

Loaf of day old sourdough, torn into bite-sized pieces

5 shallots, thinly sliced

2 pomegranates, seeded

300g pistachios, crushed

The zest of 1 mandarin

2 tbs mandarin juice

T tbs lemon juice

3 tbs rice wine vinegar

3 tbs maple syrup

Parmesan shavings

Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes, to taste)

Rocket

Olive oil

Pumpkin:

Bake the pumpkin whole at 200C for 1 hour.

(If making ahead, the baked pumpkin can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days)

After the pumpkin has cooled, tear into large chunks and move the seeds (reserve seeds). Coat pumpkin pieces with olive oil, rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper to taste.

Roast at 225C for 20 more minutes to crisp up the flesh

At this stage, prepare the toppings for assembly.

Toppings and assembly:

Torn sourdough pieces

Tear a loaf of sourdough into bite size chunks

Coat bread in olive oil, salt and pepper, toast in the same oven as the pumpkin until golden brown, around 5 minutes. You can add red pepper flakes here if you are wanting some more heat.

Toasted pumpkin seeds

Coat the seeds with 2 tbs with maple syrup and a glug of olive oil. Sprinkle with Aleppo pepper flakes and salt. Roast in the same oven as the bread and pumpkin, around 7 minutes.

Caramelized shallots

Place a glug of oil in a saute pan and cook thinly sliced shallots over medium/low heat until caramelised. This process can take up to 20 minutes.

Dressing

Vigorously whisk the olive oil, mandarin juice and zest, maple syrup, lemon and vinegar together. Season with salt and pepper

Assembly and plating:

Place a bed of rocket on a serving platter and drizzle half of the dressing over the leaves. Arrange the torn pumpkin on top.

Mix the barley, pumpkin seeds, shallots, pomegranate seeds, crushed pistachios together and coat with the remaining dressing. Scatter the barley mixture over the pumpkin and top with toasted bread and parmesan shavings.