pre-heat oven to 220°C static.

peel, top & tail, and de-seed a pumpkin; cut it into small chunks and place them in a suitably-sized baking tray; splash a little oil over the chunks, then add a sprinkling of salt, pepper, fresh thyme and Italian herb seasoning; swish around by hand until all pieces are nicely coated; bake until tender (20-25 minutes); remove from oven and let cool.

meanwhile, hard-boil shelled eggs (immerse eggs in cold water, bring to the boil, then set the timer for 10 minutes); drain, and, when cool enough to handle, peal them and set them aside.

once completely cold, slice the eggs in half and scoop out the yolks.

(optional) put egg whites in a bowl of water with some food dye of your choice and leave until the tint is to your satisfaction (this will take 20 min-3 hours, depending on the food colouring and the depth of tint you want); drain, pat dry and set aside on a serving plate.

place 70g of roasted pumpkin, egg yolks, mayonnaise and a pinch of paprika in a food processor and blitz to obtain a smooth paste; taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.

fill egg white halves with the pumpkin paste, using 2 small teaspoons or a piping bag.

top each filled egg with 2 black olives and serve; alternatively, halve pitted olives lengthways and place one half on top of each egg to create spider bodies; create spider legs by slicing the remaining olives across, and position 3 segments on each side of the spider body; for the eyes, use a toothpick to position a tiny amount of pumpkin mixture over each spider body.