As the nights draw in our mind (and stomach) turns to hearty filling comfort food. Our veg patch is overflowing with pumpkins that over enthusiastic children planted in the spring. Alas, no fairy godmother is coming to turn them into a carriage, so here are three fab seasonal recipes to use them in instead.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- An onion, finely chopped
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 500g pumpkin, cubed (about 3cm cubes are perfect)
- 50 to 100ml milk (whole milk works best)
- 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons of mascarpone
- 350g pasta (penne or rigatoni work really well)
- lashing of grated or shaved parmesan cheese
Method
- Heat the oil in a large, shallow, casserole or frying pan over a low-medium heat and fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 10-15 mins until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and fry for 1 min more. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, cook the pumpkin in a pan of boiling salted water for 10-15 mins until tender when pierced with a cutlery knife. Drain and tip into a blender (or hand blend). Blitz with 50ml milk and the onions until completely smooth, gradually adding more milk until the mixture is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon (you may not need all the milk). Tip into a large frying pan with the tomato purée and mascarpone, and bring to a simmer over a low heat.
- Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a cupful of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the pumpkin sauce, parmesan and 50-100ml of the reserved water to loosen. Season and scatter with extra parmesan.
(Extra portions of this one can be frozen)
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin, (about 1.5-2kg) Note - save the seeds – toast them in a dry pan to serve
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- Nub of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlice, finely chopped
- 900ml vegetable stock
- 100ml double cream or crème fraiche, plus a little extra to serve
Method
- Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds with a spoon (see tip below). Cut into wedges or chunks (keep the skin on) and tip into a bowl. Put the garam masala, and 1 tsp each of the coriander and cumin into a small bowl and mix with 2 tbsp of the oil and season. Drizzle over the pumpkin and toss well to coat in the spiced oil. Transfer to a baking tray, spread out evenly and roast for 40-45 mins, turning halfway through cooking, until the pumpkin is very soft when pierced with a fork. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes.
- Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 10 mins until soft. Add the ginger, garlic and remaining spices and chilli flakes, and fry for a few more minutes until fragrant. Pour in the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
- When the pumpkin is cool enough to touch, use a spoon to scoop the soft flesh from the skins. Add the soft pumpkin to the stock pan, discarding the skins. Remove from the heat and blitz the soup with a hand blender until creamy and smooth. Season to taste, adding extra chilli or garam masala if you like. Put back over a low heat and stir in the cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, then serve in bowls with a drizzle more cream and a pinch of chilli to serve. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, if you like.
(Extra portions of this one can be frozen)
Ingredients
- 225g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 100g caster sugar
- 50g soft light brown sugar
- 200g pumpkin purée (can be canned or homemade!)
- 2 large eggs
- 125g slightly salty butter, melted
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and both sugars together in a large bowl. Break up any lumps of brown sugar by rubbing them between your fingers.
- Whisk the purée and eggs together in a jug, then add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Whisk for 1-2 mins with an electric hand whisk until just combined.
- Bake for 15 mins until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely.