Yum-m-m-m
So you bought a pumpkin to decorate the front of your house for the fall. Pretty soon it will time to decorate for the next holiday, and you’ll be throwing that pumpkin away. STOP! If it’s still firm, it’s food for Thanksgiving. Here’s how you can make it into some delicious treats.
If you’ve grown up thinking that pumpkin pie comes from a bakery or that a homemade version means opening a can of Libby pumpkin pie filling, get ready for a treat. You can make enough pumpkin filling for a couple of pies and a few loaves of pumpkin bread from a reasonable sized pumpkin.
Pre-heat the over to 350 degree F. Wash and rinse the pumpkin well to get of any dirt that may have collected while it sat outside.
Place the whole pumpkin in a 9″x13″ pan or larger if necessary to accommodate the pumpkin. Put it in the oven. Let it bake, checking it every 30 minutes. It will begin to brown and soften. Liquid will begin to collect in the pan. When the pumpkin appears softened, test it with a skewer. The skewer should go into the pumpkin easily all around.
Remove from the oven. Reserve the liquid. Cut the top off the pumpkin by cutting around the stem. Remove the seeds and pulp. (Save for roasted pumpkin seeds.) Once it’s cleaned out, use a spoon to scrape the meat away from the skin being careful not to get any skin in with the meat. Put the cleaned out hulk in your compost pile.
You can mash the pumpkin with a potato masher or puree it in the blender. You will have more than enough to make a couple of pies and some pumpkin bread. Choose your pumpkin pie recipe and set aside enough puree for the pie. You can freeze the rest in baggies in one or two cup amounts. Just thaw to use.
About the reserved liquid– put it in a saucepan and reduce it down to a caramelized syrup. Substitute this syrup for the same amount of liquid in your pie recipe. It will enhance the color and the flavor of the pie.
About the seeds — Remove any pulp from the seeds. Wash them off in a colander. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt or Kosher salt depending on your preference for fine or coarse salt. Bake at 350 til brown and slightly crispy. You want to be sure that they are dried out otherwise they may mold when you store them.
Enjoy your pie, your pumpkin bread, and your pumpkin seed snack.