What to Do With November’s Jack-o-Lanterns?
Two weeks ago we went to a pumpkin festival and had a blast with our toddler daughter on the hayrides. Perhaps it was the spiked cider or the little donuts but it was a particularly fun day. We ended up dragging large pumpkins home where we carved scary faces into it. Halloween went by with the usual noise and craziness on the streets and we took our little baby witch trick or treating. Now a week later all the pumpkins sprinkled around the apartment seem to be in the way. So I decided to do some pumpkin cooking …
(my little which daughter carves pumpkins)
A quick brain storming session about pumpkin dishes brought about a bounty of recipes: satisfying velvety soup, smooth puree enriched with cheese, baked gratin speckled with pistachios, pickled pumpkin with jalapenos that leaves you wanting another, pumpkin strips softened with a sprinkle of sea salt tossed into salad, and of course last but not least, salivating pumpkin pie with whipped mascarpone cream with a touch of vanilla.
(pumpkins start getting in the way after Halloween)
The multitude of pumpkins has made me produce dish after dish. Cooking with one main ingredient is actually convenient since a simple baked pumpkin can be the base of a whole bunch of recipes.
How to make a magic menu out of Jack o’-lanterns
Following is a pumpkin base recipe, which is the biggest hurdle of my pumpkin menu.
(yep - the menu shall start with a brew)
Pumpkin Base Recipe
8 pounds pumpkin (seriously, jack o’-lanterns are perfectly acceptable as long as they’re cooked)
1-tablespoon flavor-neutral oil such as canola or grape-seed
Depending on the size of pumpkin you’re using. Cut small pumpkins up to 10 inches in half and larger pumpkins in fourths or sixths etc. If there are seeds in the pumpkin scrape them out with a kitchen spoon.
- Brush a baking sheet pan with the neutral oil.
- Distribute pumpkin pieces over the baking sheet pan.
- In a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven bake pumpkin pieces for 60 minutes. Pumpkin pieces should be soft when pierced with a small knife – if they’re still hard continue to bake for 20 minutes longer.
- Cool the pumpkin pieces for 20 minutes on the kitchen counter.
- With a kitchen spoon scoop/scrape the soft pumpkin from the skin and combine the “flesh” in a pot.
- Over low heat setting cook the pumpkin stirring constantly with a kitchen wire whisk or a fork for five minutes or until all chunks are completely mashed-up.
Now you have the pumpkin base. Whipping up dishes should be become rather easy. The following recipes yield four servings.
(pumpkin soup w. chicken and Napa cabbage)
Pumpkin Velvet Soup
1 part (2 cups) pumpkin puree
3 parts (6 cups) broth such as chicken or vegetable
4 tablespoons orange juice
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper grindings, to taste
A pinch of the following ground spices will give your soup its character: cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg
- Simmer ingredients on low heat setting for 30 minutes.
Optional garnishes added just before serving: snipped chive, croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds, unsweetened coconut milk in a spiral pattern scooped on the surface of the soup.
(pumpkin puree with cheese and purple oregano)
Baked Pumpkin Gratin
4 cups pumpkin base
½ cup nuts such as pistachios, pecans, cashews, walnuts
Sea salt, to taste
Seasoning suggestions: pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper flakes
2 ounces sharp flavored hard cheese such as Spanish sheep’s milk Idiazabal or Manchego
1 tablespoon Oregano leaves
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Toast nuts in a skillet over medium heat setting until browned.
- Combine pumpkin base, toasted nuts and spices in pot and heat throughout.
- Transfer hot pumpkin mixture into a heat proof serving dish.
- Bake pumpkin mixture for 20 minutes in the hot oven.
- With a vegetable peeler shave thin shreds from the cheese and sprinkle them over the baked pumpkin mixture just before serving.
Chef’s Note: I recommend serving baked pumpkin gratin with braised beef dishes.
(pumpkin pie with whipped cream and honey glazed pecans)
Pumpkin Pie
(8-inch tart shell)
2-½ cups pumpkin base
3 eggs¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey
8-inch wide baked tart shell (purchased from store or see recipe below)
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix pumpkin base, eggs, cinnamon, honey in a mixing bowl with a wire whisk.
- Pour pumpkin mixture into the baked tart shell.
- Bake pumpkin mixture for 30 minutes in the hot oven.
Chef’s Note: If you like to make your own tart shell in a kitchen processor pulse together (equipped with blade attachment) 2 cups all purpose flour, ½ cup sugar, 1 stick of butter (4 oz) and one pinch of salt – this will form a ball. Rest the dough ball for 20 minutes in the refrigerator then rollout dough on a flowered kitchen counter. Line aluminum pie mold and press dough into the tin. With a table fork puncture tiny holes into the dough then bake in a 325 degrees oven for 20 minutes. Pour pumpkin mixture as above.
Bye, bye jack-o’-lantern
(if all that cooking becomes to difficult you'll always can use a good pumpkin puree product with no additives)
