Add the pumpkin pieces, salt and pepper and cook gently for 10 minutes.

This pottery was rough, the roughest of the entire collection; however, in some places, the pieces showed traces of a surface that had been polished, possibly with a pumpkin piece, as it is done in some South American tribes.

Add pumpkin pieces, and simmer until tender, about 50 minutes; do not overcook.

Add the pumpkin pieces and nicely brown on both sides, for about 10-15 minutes on each side.

Remove the pumpkin pieces and let stand, covered, 15 minutes.