If you are carving a jack-o-lantern with your family this month, why not utilize the whole pumpkin? Here are two easy recipes for using the pulp and seeds you will remove prior to putting a face on your pumpkin.
First, make sure everyone handling the pumpkin has washed their hands.
After removing the top of the pumpkin, scoop out the pulp and seeds with a metal spoon or with your hands and place everything in a large bowl. You may need a paring knife to cut away some of the fibrous strings.
Next, remove the seeds, cleaning pulp off of them as you go.
Place the seeds in a colander and rinse them, removing more pulp as you rinse. Discard or compost the fibrous strings.
Lay the seeds out on paper towels and pat them dry or let them sit until dry.
The remaining pulp can be used in any pumpkin recipe, such as the smoothie recipe below. If you are not a smoothie fan, you can use the pulp as a replacement for butter or oil in baking recipes. The flavor of pulp from a large pumpkin may not be as strong as from smaller pumpkins, but it’s still fine to use.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkins seeds are a delicious and nutritious snack. High in fiber, protein, antioxidants and minerals, they are also linked to a reduction in risk of certain cancers. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. After rinsing and drying your seeds, place them in a bowl and toss them with one to two tablespoons of cooking oil, depending on the amount of seeds you have. Add some salt and mix well. You can also add other flavors such as garlic powder, wasabi powder, taco seasoning or Worcestershire sauce. Spread the seeds on a large baking sheet, and bake for 45 minutes, but check them every ten minutes in case your oven cooks faster or unevenly.
Pumpkin & Banana Smoothie
Like the seeds, pumpkin pulp is highly nutritious. High in fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins A and C, it may also help with high blood pressure. Add these ingredients to your blender: 3/4 cup pumpkin pulp, 1 frozen banana broken into chunks, 1 cup chilled lite coconut milk or other plant milk, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup. Blend well. Taste, and add additional maple syrup if it’s not sweet enough, and more milk of it is too thick.
Chipotle Pumpkin Soup
There is nothing more comforting than hot soup on a chill fall day. To cook fresh pumpkin, use a good cooking pumpkin (i.e. sugar pumpkin, fairytale pumpkin, hubbard, or kabocha pumpkin), cut in half, scoop out the seeds, place the pumpkin cut side down on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for about an hour, or until soft. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh or cut away the skin. Let cool.
Heat a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large pot (8-quart) on medium high heat. Add 1 medium yellow chopped onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add 3 garlic cloves of chopped garlic, 1-2 chipotle peppers, and 1 teaspoon ground cumin, cook for 1 minute more.
Add approximately 8 cups chopped, cooked pumpkin, 4 to 6 cups chicken stock- depending on desired thickness and how thick your pumpkin purée is (use vegetable stock for vegetarian or vegan option, can sub water for some of the stock), add the 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano, 2 teaspoons salt or more to taste, then bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered.
Toast pumpkin seeds: If you are working with raw pumpkin seeds, now would be a good time to toast them. (If your pumpkin seeds are already toasted, skip this step.) Just spread them out in an even layer in a frying pan on medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon while toasting, until the pumpkin seeds are fragrant and are lightly browned. Remove to a bowl.
Purée soup: Remove the soup from heat. Working in batches of 2 cups each, purée the soup in batches, holding down the lid the your blender tightly while puréeing, and starting on a slow speed. Return the puréed soup to the pot.
Add lime juice and more seasonings: Add 2 tablespoons lime juice. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more salt, cumin, oregano, or chipotle to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more stock or water to desired consistency.
Serve and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), or sour cream thinned with a little water so that it's runny (crema fresca) drizzled over the top, and chopped cilantro.
Note that fresh pumpkins vary in their moisture content, so you may need to add more liquid, either water or stock, to get to the consistency you want, depending on how thick or thin you would like your soup to be.
Pumpkin Panckakes
And my favorite recipe! These pancakes are good any season but taste best on cold winter mornings. You can use canned or cooked fresh pumpkin.
In the blender, mix together 1/3 cup of milk, 1 cup of chopped pumpkin (or puree), 2 eggs, 1 spoon of coconut oil. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, 1 spoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot and garnish with honey or syrup as desired.
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