Friday 13: Thirteen things to do with pumpkin (squash)
(or squash as the Americans call it). By way of background to this, I once shared a house with a woman who described herself as an "urban peasant" and was into things like keeping chickens, growing her own vegetables, composting etc etc. One year she grew these amazing gigantic Russian pumpkins (one of which actually won a prize at the local Agricultural Show) and we ate pumpkins for months and months. In another effort to use them up, she threw a Pumpkin Party. A few days before the party, she delivered a slab of pumpkin to all the guests at home asking them to make something with it to bring to the party. I was in charge of the pumpkin curry from memory. Here are a few things we ate that night and on other occasions when trying to use up the pumpkin.
1. Pumpkin soup
2. Pumpkin frittata
3. Pumpkin lasagne
4. Pumpkin moussaka
5. Pumpkin gnocchi
6. Pumpkin scones
7. Pumpkin in a salad
8. Pumpkin cake
9. Baked pumpkin
10. Pumpkin stir fry
11. Pumpkin curry
12. Pumpkin pikelets
13. Pumpkin tart.
There are probably more but I have blocked them out of my mind. Took me ages to be able to eat pumpkins again after that. Now I am back to using them a lot in my cooking. I like the sweetness they bring to an otherwise savoury dish. My daughter also likes cooking and eating pumpkin soup.
Comments
Thanks. It is very easy, Connie. Just steam cut up pieces of pumpkin in microwave, fry a bit of garlic in butter in the bottom of a big sauce, add the cooked pumpkin and some chicken stock and puree the lot with a stab mixer and heat for a little while on the stove. I then serve with a dollop of yoghurt and some nutmeg (although my daughter doesn't like the nutmeg).
Had a lovely Thai style one at someone's house the other day - included coconut milk and green curry paste. Yum!
LOL...I can't help but chuckle because I don't call pumpkin (as represented in the first photo) "squash." You've got me on the butternut variety, though. However, the only squash I've ever eaten is yellow squash.
Well...that I know of, anyway...zucchini and pumpkin notwithstanding. :)
Guess it's time to research my vegetable families.
250 gr dried chick peas, cooked by whatever method you prefer
250 gr dried small white beans, cooked
1 kg pumpkin, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 or more cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
2 cups shredded cabbage OR half package frozen spinach
1 400 gr can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
3 tsp chicken stock powder
2 - 3 cups water
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried mixed herbs or more to taste
Combine all the ingredients except the chick peas and white beans in a large saucepan or slow cooker. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer until pumpkin is very soft. Mash with a potato masher to roughly pureee pumpkin pieces. Stir in chick peas and white beans and reheat before serving. Can be eaten alone or over pasta, with steamed green vegetables.