| Measurements and ingredients: |
Small pie pumpkins have the best flavor. However…
You
can still eat your jack-o-lantern—just wait to carve it until
Halloween, and then cook it right after the trick-or-treaters have gone
home.
Roasted pumpkin is nutritious and delicious—toss in
a few peeled chunks of pumpkin with your favorite root vegetables
(carrots, potatoes, onions, squash, etc), add some butter or olive oil,
salt, and pepper, then bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until the
veggies are tender.
Fresh or frozen pumpkin purée can be
used in any recipe that calls for canned or puréed pumpkin, mashed
sweet potatoes, or yams. Read on for instructions about cooking and
puréeing pumpkins.
To cook small pumpkins, cut off the
stem, then cut the pumpkin in half, and scrape out all the seeds and
slime. Place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a baking dish and
bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the pumpkin flesh is
tender. Then scoop out the pumpkin flesh and purée it in a food
processor. Freeze it, or use it within two or three days.
If
you're cooking your jack-o-lantern, cut it up as you would a melon:
slice it into wedges, peel the skin off the wedges (use a sharp knife
and watch your fingers), then cut the wedges into big chunks. Then
bake, boil, or steam the chunks until you can pierce them with a fork
(this will take 45-60 minutes—just keep checking them) and purée them
in the food processor. Freeze it, or use it within two or three days.
Stuffing
pumpkins is fun, and makes for a really dramatic dish. Cut a hole in
the top of a small pie pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and slime, then
bake the pumpkin in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes (you can bake the
lid too). Meanwhile, mix up your favorite rice pilaf or stuffing recipe
and cook it alongside the pumpkin. If you want a semi-healthy dessert,
make rice pudding. Once the filling (pilaf, stuffing…) and the pumpkin
are mostly done, rub the pumpkin's cavity with butter and stuff it with
the filling. Cook for another 45 minutes or so, or until the pumpkin
flesh is tender. When you serve it, scrape out some pumpkin flesh along
with each spoonful of filling. You will probably have a lot of leftover
filling—just serve it alongside the pumpkin.
You can also turn a pumpkin into a soup tureen. Here's a fun recipe from The Classic Vegetable Cookbook :
1 6-lb. pumpkin
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup minced onion
2 cups diced French bread without crust
1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock, boiling
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
Nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut a jack-o-lantern-style lid,
then scoop out seeds and slime. Season the inside with salt and pepper,
and rub the outside with vegetable oil.
Sauté the onions in butter until soft, then mix in the bread. Stuff
the bread mixture into the pumpkin, stir in the broth and cream, and
season with salt and pepper, bay leaves, and a good sprinkle of nutmeg.
Put the lid on the pumpkin and bake for two hours. Remove the top
(don't pull on the stem, which may come off—pry it up with a knife) and
stir every 45 minutes or so while it's baking.
Adjust seasonings and add some butter for a richer taste.
Scoop out some of the pumpkin flesh as you serve the soup. Bon appétit! |
Great Recipes for Local Foods
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Share a recipe using any of our featured seasonal foods and we’ll list it on our site! These recipes can be submitted at any time throughout the year, in any category, as long as it depends on fresh, locally grown farm products.
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