Squashes have nourished people for centuries, but the pumpkin achieved iconic status in the New World, where the native cucurbita variety sustained New England settlers and became the American jack o'lantern. The versatile pumpkin grows easily in home gardens, contains about 49 calories in a cup, and is an exceptional source of vitamin A and beta carotene.
Starting Out
Preparation of fresh pumpkin is so simple that every cook should try it before resorting to canned pumpkin. Freeze fresh pumpkin in fall when it is available for use all year. Small pie or "sweet" pumpkins yield about 1 cup of puree for each pound of flesh; large jack-o'-lantern pumpkins yield less finished pulp per pound and taste bland. After cutting the pumpkin in half, clean out and set aside its seeds. Cut it into chunks and steam in a pot until tender. Freeze chunks or skin them for puree. For puree, bake two halves of pumpkin, interiors down, in a pan filled with an inch of water until fork-tender. Puree in a food processor. Refrigerate overnight to allow excess water to settle, and pour off the water before use or packing for the freezer. For nutritious kids' snacks, boil seeds for a few minutes to clean, and soak them overnight in brine. Drain and roast the seeds in a slow oven, turning until dry.
Soups and Sides
Rich pumpkin soup makes an impressive presentation in a tureen or baked in the shell. Prepare it with chicken stock, chopped apples, curry and cream or simply with chicken stock, sauteed vegetables and cream. Garnish soup with a sprig of fennel and a trail of heavy cream. Try substituting puree in a sweet potato puff recipe, or bake as other winter squash -- in the shell, face up, glazed with maple syrup and pecans. Use frozen pumpkin chunks for stir-fry dishes and frozen puree for pumpkin fritters during the holidays.
Main Dishes
Pumpkin risotto, pumpkin pancakes or a pumpkin curry using cubed chicken create warm dishes for cold winter days and nights. Add sliced or pureed pumpkin to strata for a nutritious weekend brunch. Chop it into turkey chili for a low-fat alternative to beef and beans. Cubed, sauteed pumpkin combines with eggplant, spinach, pesto and cheeses to make hearty vegetable lasagna without the heavy red sauce. Piquant cheeses like feta and gruyere provide gentle contrast in stratas and lasagna. Use spices like rosemary, bay and curry to bring out pumpkin's savory flavor.
Sweet Stuff
The Pilgrims made pie by cleaning out a pumpkin, filling it with milk, spices and honey and roasting it in the ashes of the cooking fire. Today's Thanksgiving cooks use evaporated milk, spices and sugar in a pastry crust. Pumpkin also appears in recipes for cheesecake, cookie bars, custards, cakes, quick breads, and even in creme brulee. Not-too-sweet pumpkin bread spread with peanut butter replaces breakfast sweet rolls with all-American nutrition. Traditional pie spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace and cloves complement pumpkin in dozens of recipes for sweets.
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