We all buy one at least one a year – to make a Jack-O-Lantern for Hallowe’en night. But how many of us actually use that Pumpkin afterwards, preserving it for food? The answer is very few. Way too few. And that’s a shame, in an era when we’re eating too few Fruits and Veggies as it is…
An award-winning Pumpkin Lasagne: Just one example of things
you can do with this versatile Veggie, beyond Pie and Soup…
Are you guilty – like so many home cooks – of trashing your Hallowe’en Pumpkin, and then going out and buying canned Pumpkin to make year-end holiday treats a few weeks later? It takes some work, but there’s also much reward in peeling and cubing your pumpkin for use as food after the light in the Jack-O-lantern is extinguished later this evening.
What you do…
I cut the Pumpkin into halves, and then take longitudinal strips roughly along the ‘seam’ lines in the gourd. I cut the rind off with a sharp knife, then start to reduce the pulp to 1 in. / 2.5 cm cubes. These can be measured into heavy-duty freezer bags and frozen for at least a year. Nothing else needs to be done until you want to use the stuff, whenever-after.
Making stuff later…
I just throw the frozen pumpkin cubes into a saucepan and turn it up to medium to begin the process of thawing and puréeing the stuff for use in Soups, Pies and so on. That is, in fact how I use the great bulk of my salvaged Pumpkin.
Frozen Pumpkin can be turned into a variety of Desserts including Traditional Pies, Cookies, Cakes, Breads and Squares.
Pumpkin Soup is a classic, and there are thousands of recipes to choose from on the Internet, from Sweet to Savoury.
Pumpkin Casseroles are also traditional at end-of-year festive feasts. Like the Soups, they range from Sweet to Savoury, and even stray into other cuisines (Pumpkin Lasagne).
Just about anything is possible…
The truth is, Pumpkin can play a role in just about any dish you can dream up. It’s like a blank canvas for flavour that you can decorate almost any way you like. Simply Google your heart’s desire – say, ‘India Pumpkin Recipes’ – to get a taste of what others are doing with this versatile Veggie!
~ Maggie J.