It's pumpkin time again, here's how to have a smashing time in the kitchen
Pumpkins are glorious.
Last year I was given a gorgeous specimen, a light yellow-coloured squash and brought it home, lobbing it on the kitchen table on a Saturday afternoon, and I went to work.
I made a pumpkin bread, a soup and a curry.
The Irish climate is perfect for growing these cheerful cucurbitae with fun names like baby bear, hooligan, patty pan and ichi kuri as they need lots of water and plenty of manure.
Pumpkin is full of vitamins A,C and E, that’s why you often find it in home made face masks.
As the trend for paleo and low-starch eating continues, replacing potato wedges with wedges of roasted pumpkin is a great way to get your veggies and while giving your plate a real burst of colour.
As pumpkins have a natural sweetness, they also taste great with fermented foods like sauerkraut or any pickled veg, so these two make natural plate fellows.
While making a jack-o-lantern is a fun thing to do with a pumpkin of dubious origin — there are many delicious things you can do with the flesh of these sweet and colourful home-grown fruits.
Thai Yelow Curry with Pumpkin and Chicken
I make Thai curries a lot as they are so easy and tasty and, as I am always making chicken stock, I have chicken meat and stock to use up.
If you want to do it for fun or to be very impressive, just scoop out the inside flesh of one side of the pumpkin, use a sharp spoon to do this, old, worn silver ones work best.
The flesh that you scoop out will be better used in another recipe as you need chunks for this.
- 1/2 a butternut or ichi kuri squash, peeled and cut into chunks of 1inch, 3cm square(ish)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 tblsp coconut oil
- 2tblsp Thai yellow curry paste, available from all Asian food shops
- 200g cooked leftover chicken or 2 chicken breasts, raw and sliced
- 60g frozen petit pois or regular frozen peas, allowed to defrost
- 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 lime - cut into wedges
- 2 tblsp Thai fish sauce
- 1 hand-full coriander to serve
Method
Heat the oil in a medium sized pan and fry the curry paste for 2 minutes, add the coconut milk and the stock and bring to a simmer
Add the chunks of pumpkin and allow them to cook for 15-20 minutes, if using raw chicken, add it after 15 minutes and add the peas too.
Simmer everything for a further 5 minutes, do not let it boil or the soup will split.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with fish sauce, this is essential for that really authentic flavour, squeeze over some lime juice and sprinkle with fresh coriander and mint.
To make a more robust meal, serve with some steamed Thai Jasmine rice.
Pumpkin Brownies
I’ve made these with sweet potatoes but a firm fleshed pumpkin or squash works just as well.
These are great if you are giving up sugar for weight loss or health reasons as you certainly don’t feel deprived of anything with their rich gooeyness.
Prepare a brownie tin of 20 x 30cm with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 170C.
- 1kg grated pumpkin flesh - ichi kuri or butternut work well, always
- 100g good quality cocoa - Green and Black’s is really nice
- 50g coconut flour
- 6 eggs
- 200g melted butter or coconut oil
- Half a jar of honey ( about 120g)
Peel the pumpkin and grate, it doesn’t need to be finely shredded as it will disintegrate.
Mix in all the other ingredients until you have a ball of chocolately goo.
Spread the mixture out over the tin and bake for 50 minutes until the brownies are firm to the touch. Leave them cool down fully before you cut them.
They will keep for a few days in an airtight container or up to a week in the fridge.
Smashing face mask
If you have some leftover pumpkin flesh then make this face mask as a brightening treat.
You will need about 200g cooked pumpkin (any type), mashed and allowed to cool.
For dry skin add a tablespoon of honey, for oily skin add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and mix well.
Smooth over your face an leave for 15-20 minutes and rinse, or spoon off. Your skin will be velvety.
