Before you start eyeballing your 20 pound Halloween pumpkin with the idea that you can make it into pies, put your knife down: Not all pumpkins are created equal for cooking.
There is a big variety of pumpkins and some are good for carving and some are good for eating. All pumpkins are edible but carving pumpkins have low sugar levels, thinner walls and are stringy. If you want to make a good pie, what you need is the smaller – no larger than 5 pounds – and sweeter Sugar pumpkin.
It isn’t easy to prepare a pumpkin for cooking. I did it one time and afterwards I decided that canned organic pumpkin will do me fine in the future. But if you’re curious, here’s how to do it:
Prep the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the stem and cut the pumpkin into quarters. Scrape the seeds and pulp into a strainer. You can bake the seeds later to snack on or add to a salad.
Roast the pumpkin: Put the wedges on a baking sheet and cover tightly with foil; bake until the flesh is tender, about 90 minutes. Remove the foil and let cool.
Puree and strain: Scoop the pumpkin flesh out of it’s shell, place in a food processor and puree until smooth. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place the colander over a bowl. Put the pumpkin puree in the colander to drain excess liquid. Place the colander and bowl in the refrigerator to drain overnight.
This recipe for pumpkin soup (from pumpkinsoup.org) will get your taste buds ready for the upcoming holidays:
Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Sugar Croutons
2 tablespoons brown sugar
15 oz of homemade or canned pumpkin puree
2 cans salt free chicken broth, 14 ½ oz each
1 cup chopped onion
5 tablespoons softened butter
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 slices whole wheat bread
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Handful cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix together the cinnamon, half the sugar, and the butter and spread it evenly over one side of each slice of bread. Put the bread, buttered side up, on a baking tray and bake for about 8 minutes or until the bread is toasted.
Cut the bread slices into small squares or triangles.
Sauté the onion in the rest of the butter until tender, then add half the chicken broth. Stir the mixture well, bring it to a boil, then cover the pan, turn the heat down, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
Process the broth in a food processor or a blender until it is smooth, then put it back in the pan and add the other can of broth, the salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, pepper, the rest of the sugar and the ginger.
Stir the mixture well and bring it to a boil.
Cover the pan, turn the heat down, and let the pumpkin soup simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring it all the time.
Stir in the cream and warm it through without boiling.
Ladle the soup into 6 serving bowls and top each one with some croutons and cilantro leaves.
There is a big variety of pumpkins and some are good for carving and some are good for eating. All pumpkins are edible but carving pumpkins have low sugar levels, thinner walls and are stringy. If you want to make a good pie, what you need is the smaller – no larger than 5 pounds – and sweeter Sugar pumpkin.
It isn’t easy to prepare a pumpkin for cooking. I did it one time and afterwards I decided that canned organic pumpkin will do me fine in the future. But if you’re curious, here’s how to do it:
Prep the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the stem and cut the pumpkin into quarters. Scrape the seeds and pulp into a strainer. You can bake the seeds later to snack on or add to a salad.
Roast the pumpkin: Put the wedges on a baking sheet and cover tightly with foil; bake until the flesh is tender, about 90 minutes. Remove the foil and let cool.
Puree and strain: Scoop the pumpkin flesh out of it’s shell, place in a food processor and puree until smooth. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place the colander over a bowl. Put the pumpkin puree in the colander to drain excess liquid. Place the colander and bowl in the refrigerator to drain overnight.
This recipe for pumpkin soup (from pumpkinsoup.org) will get your taste buds ready for the upcoming holidays:
Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Sugar Croutons
2 tablespoons brown sugar
15 oz of homemade or canned pumpkin puree
2 cans salt free chicken broth, 14 ½ oz each
1 cup chopped onion
5 tablespoons softened butter
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 slices whole wheat bread
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Handful cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix together the cinnamon, half the sugar, and the butter and spread it evenly over one side of each slice of bread. Put the bread, buttered side up, on a baking tray and bake for about 8 minutes or until the bread is toasted.
Cut the bread slices into small squares or triangles.
Sauté the onion in the rest of the butter until tender, then add half the chicken broth. Stir the mixture well, bring it to a boil, then cover the pan, turn the heat down, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
Process the broth in a food processor or a blender until it is smooth, then put it back in the pan and add the other can of broth, the salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, pepper, the rest of the sugar and the ginger.
Stir the mixture well and bring it to a boil.
Cover the pan, turn the heat down, and let the pumpkin soup simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring it all the time.
Stir in the cream and warm it through without boiling.
Ladle the soup into 6 serving bowls and top each one with some croutons and cilantro leaves.
