Canned pumpkin isn’t available in Poland, so cooking with pumpkin is a very seasonal. I want to say everyone is roasting pumpkins this time of year; it seems that way among the American cooks anyway. We returned home with a pumpkin from the market Friday evening, to see on facebook that my friend Rhonda was “baking pumpkin and roasting seeds” just a few buildings away.
I have always been a fan of Barbara Kingsolver’s fiction; a couple of years ago, I read her non-fiction work, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. The book recounts her family’s year long experiment to only eat what was raised locally. I remember her lamenting in the book that every autumn when the local cooking columnist published pumpkin recipes, they always called for a can of pumpkin – never a fresh cooked pumpkin. This, my first attempt at pumpkin roasting, is for you Barbara.
We picked out a small pumpkin, just 7 or 8 inches in diameter. I cooked it just like I do acorn squash. Everything I’ve read suggest that small pumpkins are best for cooking. When you combine that with the fact that we walk home carrying our groceries, it was an easy decision.
I sliced it in half.
I scooped out the seeds and slimy strings from the center.
I had every good intention of using the seeds – relishing the idea of apply the nose-to-tail philosophy to this gourd-like squash. But I like pumpkin seeds hulled and the two methods I found online seemed like too much work!
I lined a baking sheet with foil, for easy clean-up, and placed the pumpkin on the foil, cut-side down. I baked it at 350 F or 175 C for about an hour, until a fork is easily inserted.
Let the pumpkin cool and then scrape out of the shell.
I pureed it in three batches with my immersion blender. You could also do this with a regular blender or food processor. Our small pumpkin made 5 cups of pureed pumpkin – more than enough for two pies. I’ll be making family favorite pumpkin log, and trying out pumpkin soup, maybe even a pumpkin spice latte!
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Jenn
Congrats on making your own pumpkin puree. It looks great :).
Cheryl Bunn
I steamed mine,hope its good.
Lois Britton
Cheryl – I’ll bet it will be!
Syvia
I am enjoying your description of pursuing pumpkin from scratch. I’ve done this for years, buying “pie pumpkins” either in super of r farmers market. I use the exact same method. Love having my own fresh frozen pumpkin for cooking during the year. And out Kim pies made with fresh is ever so much better. I use about 1tsp granules of Tapiocca for thickenrr…hmmm good.
Syvia
I am enjoying your description of pursuing pumpkin from scratch. I’ve done this for years, buying “pie pumpkins” either in super of r farmers market. I use the exact same method. Love having my own fresh frozen pumpkin for cooking during the year. And out Kim pies made with fresh is ever so much better. I use about 1tsp granules of Tapiocca for thickenrr…hmmm good.