pumpkin king

It is no coincidence that a pumpkin with slits in the form of eyes and a gap-toothed smile has become a symbol of the holiday – All Saints Day, better known by its American name Halloween: it is in October-November that this beautiful vegetable reaches its maximum ripeness and most striking taste. It is eaten raw, boiled, fried, stewed and baked, it is used to prepare desserts, side dishes and drinks, it is stuffed, and the seeds are used to squeeze fragrant and very healthy oil. Pumpkin is put into pasta and risotto, it is added to soups and pie fillings… What can we say about pumpkin seeds, which you can not only gnaw with pleasure, but also use to decorate various pastries and salads… That is why you need to find a person who is completely indifferent to pumpkin is almost impossible: even if you don’t like, say, stuffed or baked pumpkin, you will surely appreciate it in the form of an airy soufflé or a delicate dessert.

Color and size

When choosing a pumpkin, it is important to keep a few simple rules in mind. The more intense the orange-reddish color of its flesh, the sweeter the pumpkin will taste. A fruit with yellow or greenish flesh often has a less pronounced taste (which is sometimes good for salads in which pumpkin is used fresh), sometimes even with a slight bitterness. When buying a whole pumpkin, you should not take a huge “Cinderella carriage” – large pumpkins, although very beautiful, are usually dry and almost tasteless. The best are usually fruits weighing from one and a half to three kilograms.

Not only for sweets

Most often, pumpkin is used to make desserts, but it is also great for main dishes. Perhaps the most spectacular way to serve a pumpkin is to fill it with stuffing and bake it. To do this, you need to carefully cut off the top of the pumpkin, remove the bones, cut the flesh from the inside in 10–12 places (you will have to act very carefully so as not to cut through the crust through) and, using a brush, carefully grease the pumpkin from the inside with vegetable oil, bake in within 30–40 minutes. After that, the pulp can be removed with a spoon, mixed with other components of the filling – meat, half-cooked rice, fried vegetables, dried fruits, herbs – and then returned to the pumpkin peel, cover with a cut lid and simmer in a not too hot oven for two or three hours. Please note that the pumpkin can only be put in a cold oven – otherwise the peel will begin to crack. This dish can be prepared on the eve of the gala dinner, and the next day only reheated, putting it in the oven half an hour before serving, while it will become even more fragrant, and its taste even richer, richer and more complex.

Pumpkin is used to make savory pies and strudel, combined with ricotta it will serve as an amazing filling for ravioli, and baked in the oven, puréed in a blender and mixed with vegetable broth and milk, the pumpkin will turn into a great, fragrant and warming cream soup. However, a good pumpkin is both simply diced and fried – in this form it can be combined with other vegetables and various spices and served as a side dish for meat. When frying pumpkin, it is important to remember that it should be salted only after a golden crust has formed – if you do this earlier, the pumpkin pulp will soften and may lose its shape.

pumpkin soul

In Austria, where pumpkin seed oil is considered one of the foundations of the national cuisine, it is called the “soul of the pumpkin”. Indeed, the thick, dark and aromatic oil is the quintessential pumpkin flavor. It cannot be stored for a long time, so it is worth buying it in small portions, renewing the supply as needed. Pumpkin oil has a pleasant taste and can bring an unusual, bright note to any salads (including pumpkin salads). However, it should be heated with caution: overheated oil loses its healing properties, and most importantly, it starts to taste very bitter. That is why, for example, when preparing the famous Austrian “green omelette” (a lot of chopped fresh garden and field greens are put in it), pumpkin oil must be heated over low heat and its temperature should be constantly monitored.

Royal Desserts

Pumpkin is baked with honey, cinnamon and nuts, it is used to make sweet pies and even cakes, but perhaps the most delicious dessert from this vegetable will be exquisite pumpkin-orange confiture with the aroma of cloves. To prepare this delicacy, the pumpkin should be rubbed on a coarse grater and, mixed with orange, lemon juice and sugar passed through a meat grinder, boiled over low heat for one and a half to two hours, and shortly before being ready, add a few pieces of cloves. The resulting amber sour and tender confiture can be stored until next autumn.

Preparation time: 15 minutes + 30 minutes for baking.

• 1 medium pumpkin
• 1 head of garlic
• 10 g of parmesan, grated with “petals”
• 2 tbsp. l. peeled and lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
• 2 Art. l. liquid honey
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• chopped parsley
• extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven. Wash, dry and cut the pumpkin into slices, removing the seeds. Spread the unpeeled garlic cloves on a baking sheet, as well as the pumpkin slices, brushing them with olive oil. Apply a few drops of honey to each slice of pumpkin, powder with ground cumin, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the roasted pumpkin slices and garlic cloves with pumpkin seeds, parmesan and parsley before serving. You can add sour cream to the finished dish.

Coleslaw (fresh salad) pumpkin

For 4 persons. Preparation time: 15 minutes + 1,5 hours for standing.

• 400 g pumpkin
• 2 large green apples
• 200 g root celery
• 2 tbsp. l. pumpkin seed oil
• 4 tbsp. l. natural yoghurt
• 1 Art. l. lemon juice
• 1 tsp fine sugar
• salt
• celery greens and pumpkin seeds for garnish

Grate pumpkin, apple and celery on a coarse grater (or on a grater for Korean carrots). If the apples are very juicy, drain the excess juice. Whisk together the yogurt, pumpkin seed oil, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Pour the vegetables with the resulting dressing, mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least an hour and a half. Before serving, arrange on plates, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and finely chopped celery.

Flan with pumpkin and spices

Preparation time: 30 minutes + 65 minutes for baking.

• 250 g flour
• 500 g pumpkin pulp
• 11 Art. l. olive oil
• 3 art. l. warm water
• 1 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 hours. L. Semyan koriandra
• small bunch of fresh cilantro
• 2 eggs
• 4 Art. l. whipping cream
• 1 tsp ground curry

Mix flour, 10 tablespoons of olive oil, warm water and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Knead the dough until it pulls away from your hands. Roll it into a ball and put it in a cool place for 30 minutes. Cut pumpkin flesh into cubes and steam for 15 minutes. Chop the onion and saute it over low heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add pumpkin, minced garlic, coriander seeds and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Drain excess liquid, add cilantro greens. Puree the mixture in a blender. Mix the eggs with the cream, add the curry, salt and pepper and fold the mixture into a puree. Roll out the dough and place it in a mold greased with butter. Close the future bottom of the pie with a circle of baking paper, press it down with a couple of handfuls of dry beans and bake in the oven at 180 ° C for 10 minutes. Then remove the paper and beans and spread the prepared filling over the dough. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Pumpkin Punch

For 12–15 persons. Preparation time: 20 minutes + 4 hours marinating + chilling time.

• 1 pumpkin weighing 1,5–2 kg
• 3-4 Art. l. Sahara
• 2 l dry white wine
• 1 can (800 g) peach compote
• 2 lemons juice
• 100 ml peach liqueur (optional)
• 1,5 liters of champagne

Cut off the top of the pumpkin, remove the seeds and carefully scoop out the flesh. Cut it into small cubes, pour over lemon juice, sprinkle with sugar and leave to marinate for 4 hours or overnight – it should become soft and juicy. Cut the peaches from the compote into the same small cubes, put together with the pumpkin pulp in the hollow shell of the pumpkin, pour the remaining syrup from the compote, and then add the wine and peach liqueur. Check if there is enough sugar (if the mixture seems sour, you can sweeten it a little), and then rearrange it in the refrigerator and cool it down properly. Just before serving, pour the champagne into the pumpkin, stir quickly and ladle into wide glass goblets.