It’s Halloween, and all over town people are putting out pumpkins. And why not? It’s the perfect season for them. Although Jack O’Lanterns don’t make for very good eating, a lot of others do. We asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, what can we do with these amazing vegetables?
In fact, there’s lots we can do! We must remember that pumpkins are just squash, there’s no difference. And because when we think “pumpkin” we think “Jack O’Lanterns” that sort of limits our take on what they are. But that big Halloween pumpkin is just the tip of the iceberg. There are literally l hundreds of varieties around the world, and they are all edible to one extent or another.
In Maryland the native Americans raised pumpkins as a staple, alongside all the other squashes. So there are plenty of varieties for cooking?
People always ask, can I eat my Jack O’Lantern? The answer is NO, after you’ve carved it up. A better use would be to take it to a woods and leave it for the animals. But there are dozens of good cooking pumpkins. At the top of my list would be the Cinderella pumpkin.
It’s a big orange and green pumpkin that is sort of flattened out, and if you put wheels on it, it would look like Cinderella’s carriage. That’s the one we use for pumpkin pie. It’s very high in sugar and has a great texture. Some others that I’ve used are the tiny Sugar Baby or Sugar Pie pumpkins. Then there’s the massive and ugly Hubbard Squash, which is sort of blue, believe it or not. The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin sort of looks like a wheel of cheese, but its sweet and nutty flavor are great for cooking.
People in Baltimore who can get to the Waverly market on Saturdays can visit farmer Billy Caulk who grows a wide assortment of pumpkins this time of year. It’s an education.
But how do we work with pumpkins?
Jerry says, the best way is to cut them into pieces, take out the seeds and fibrous membrane, and then roast them in the oven, skin side up. At some point the skins will really soften up, you can poke a knife tip through it, and you’re done. Take them out, let them cool, and then scrape the flesh out. And for a lot of them you’ll want to squeeze the excess water out of them. And then you’re good to go. And now you’ve got the basic ingredient for a purée,
which is where most pumpkin recipes start. And it couldn’t be easier. Just put your roasted pumpkin flesh into a food processor, and blitz it for about 3-4 minutes, until it’s smooth. And you’re good to go.
So, let’s look at some of the things we can do with that purée.
Certainly, pumpkin pie is your first choice. You’re just going to blend that purée with some eggs, throw in some sugar and some spices. (And Jerry uses the pre-mixed Pumpkin Pie Spices that you can find in the store.) Stir it smoothly, and it’s ready to fill a shell.
Pumpkin bread is a seasonal favorite. You mix up batter with your purée, some eggs, a liquid like orange juice, a little vegetable oil, all those spices, brown sugar, and of course flour and a little baking powder. And it goes into a bread pan, and you bake it up. Again, it’s really easy.
And something for those cold nights ahead? We’d go with pumpkin soup. We’re going to get that purée velvety smooth, then add some vegetable broth, cream, and spices, with a dash of salt, and just let it simmer. For a garnish, you could roast some of those pumpkin seeds that I hope you didn’t throw out.
