I love a good old potato bake but in my mind it was time for a bit of a makeover.  Sweet pumpkin, earthy kale and little nutty pops of flavour from the pine nuts made this a sensational side that the whole family loved.  So much so that I made a large one thinking I would have the leftovers for lunch but unlucky for me, they ate it all!!

I served this with Pot Roasted Chicken in White Wine & Garlic (See link below) but it would go perfectly with any roast, BBQ or grilled meat or for all my Vego friends as a main with a lovely side salad.

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/pot-roasted-chicken-in-white-wine-and-garlic/

Prep time:  25 minutes            Cooking time:  35-40  Minutes             $  Low Budget

Serves 6 as a side or 4 as a main

Olive oil for frying

500gm piece of butternut pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed

1 bunch of kale, washed, woody ends removed and roughly chopped

1 brown onion, halved and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

1/2 tsp of chilli flakes

A squeeze of lemon

1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts

250ml of thin cream

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Slice the pumpkin into thin (approximately 1/2cm) slices.  Heat a large heavy based pan and add a little olive oil.  Lightly fry the onion until soft and then add the garlic, pine nuts and chilli flakes.  Once aromatic pop the kale into the pan and allow it to wilt for a couple of minutes but don’t over do it as it will continue to cook in the oven.  Squeeze over the lemon juice and pour in the cream.  Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

To assemble the dish, place a single layer of pumpkin in the bottom of a medium sized (I used 23cm x 23cm) baking dish.  Spread a third of the kale mixture over the top and then repeat until you have 3 layers of each with the kale on top.  Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan and bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until golden and crunchy on top and the pumpkin is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.  Enjoy!