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Pumpkins - October Want to be in the record books like Ron Wallace? In 2006, he grew the world's largest pumpkin, a 1,502 pound monster. While that specimen would make a mean jack-o'-lantern, smaller is better when it comes to cooking. Medium-size pumpkins (about 2 to 7 pounds) - bright orange sugards, reddish Cinderellas, dusky peach Sonias, and ghostly white Long Island Cheeses - aren't as stringy as their carving counterparts. Plus, they're a whole lot easier to cut open and seed. Sugar pumpkins may be the easiest to find in the autumn, but all these varieties are interchangeable in recipes, though they vary slightly in taste and texture. When pumpkins get scarce after Thanksgiving, you can substitute butternut or kabocha squash. Even when Halloween and Thanksgiving aren't just around the corner, there's a world of good reasons to cook with fresh pumpkin. "Pumpkins are grown on every continent except Antarctica," explains DeeDee Stovel, author of Pumpkin: Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year. "For people who only associate pumpkin with pie, it's a revelation to see all the ways you can use it." Peeled chunks are found in African stews, Indian curries, Italian risottos and Caribbean soups. Mexicans simmer pumpkins with brown sugar for breakfast, Brazilians stuff and bake whole pumpkins; and Japanese cooks slice them into thin strips to be fried in tempura batter. Here at home, pumpkin puree provides a slightly sweet, colorful base for quick breads, coffee cakes and pie fillings. One easy way to start cooking with fresh pumpkin is to substitute peeled cubes for potatoes, yams or carrots in favorite recipes. Another is to steam, roast or microwave chunks of pumpkin, then puree the flesh and serve the way you would mashed potatoes. Also, try fresh pumpkin puree in your favorite holiday recipes. We guarantee you'll never want to go back to canned (though it works fine in a pinch). Whichever method you choose, the delicious benefits are - dare we say it - HUGE. Get Cracking To cut a pumpkin in half, use wahtever works - a long chef's knife, even a quick drop on the sidewalk. (Just rinse the pieces off once you've broken through!) Scrape out seeds with an ice cream scoop. To cook pumpkin cubes, cut halves into wedges. Remove skins with vegetable peeler, then slice into chunks. Boil, steam or microwave until soft (5 to 20 minutes). Mash or puree and use in place of canned pumpkin. To roast pumpkin halves, preheat oven to 375 F. Place halves cut-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Tent with foil and cook 1 hour or until very tender. Scoop out flesh, mash and then use in place of canned pumpkin. Pumpkin Recipes Pumpkin Cookies Curried Pumpkin and Black Eyed Peas Sticky Toffee Pudding with Pumpkin Whipped Cream Pumpkin Soup Pumpkin Ginger Muffins Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin Flan RECIPES IN THIS CATEGORY: |
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