I love the versatility of pumpkin puree. In a majority of Western cooking and baking pumpkin is mostly used in cakes, pies, and muffins, but it takes on the properties and tastes of squash and tomatoes when made savory the right way. I worked with what I had at hand; regular sesame seeds would work just fine but I love the rich nuttiness and the nice appearance of black sesame seeds. Yields about 15-18 pasties depending on how much you can get from your tube of dough. Dried cilantro would also be a nice sub or addition to the thyme!