We have about a dozen pumpkins all turning a lovely shade of orange in the garden right now. I've made pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pie filling. But we still have a ton of pumpkins. So when my 12 year old mentioned an Ethiopian recipe for pumpkin stew, I was all attention. She didn't know exactly how it was made, and so I worked from her general instructions rather than from exact amounts. But the recipe turned out to be really delicious, and she told me it tasted right. So I thought you might enjoy hearing what I did.

Pumpkin Wat

--Start by chopping up part of a pumpkin, removing skin and seeds. Chop the pumpkin into about 1-inch cubes (a total of 4 cups). Then you'll need to mince 1 medium-sized onion and a couple of tomatoes. You can use the food processor for this if you like, but keep the onion separate from the tomato.

--Heat a heavy skillet over high heat, and add the onion. Cook the onion, (no oil) stirring often, until the onion is lightly brown. At that point add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1 T. berbere. Cook the onion for another minute or so. Then add the pureed tomato and the pumpkin chunks.

--Let it cook until it is bubbling. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring every few minutes and making sure the food does not start to stick to the bottom of the pan. If is does, you can turn the heat down and/or add a little more oil.

--When the pumpkin is done it wil be soft and slightly translucent, though not falling totally apart. You can serve this over rice, pasta, or injera. This recipe makes a wat that is only mildly spicy. I was amazed at how nicely the berbere flavor blended with the pumpkin. In fact, as I type this, I am scheming about making this recipe again tomorrow. (Nevermind that I already ate it twice today.)

Side note: My 15 year old son came down to breakfast this morning, smelled the berbere and told me that he is writing a book titled 'Berbere Is Not For Breakfast'. (He opted to skip it at breakfast, but pronounced it delicious a little later in the day when presumeably his stomach was more ready for berbere.)