• Home
• Life
• Sunday Life
• Taste

Pumpkin pie had its humble beginnings as a hollowed-out pumpkin filled with milk, spices and honey, which was then baked in the hot ashes of the fireplace.

If that sounds more like pumpkin soup, it should come as no surprise that - after those scary and spooky trick-or-treat, carved pumpkins have gone away until next year - many cooks take a serious look at all the wonderful dishes that can be made with these bulbous orange gourds.

As Halloween passes and Thanksgiving approaches, everybody seems to have a different way of cooking with leftover pumpkins. Native Americans were known to roast long strips of pumpkin flesh over an open fire. The pumpkin served at the first Thanksgiving table was mashed and savory, rather than a sweet filling in a pie shell. Our ancestors were limited in the ways they knew how to utilize the pumpkin's flesh.

We now know that pumpkin flesh can be baked, grilled, sauteed or steamed to make it tender, with each cooking method giving the finished product a slightly different nuance. It can be cubed, mashed, pureed or turned into a gratin - with or without the addition of potatoes - and served as a savory side dish or a sweet filling. It can appear as dessert sauce, parfait, side dish or as a savory stuffing inside of ravioli.

Pumpkin is great in risotto or as an autumn soup, and we can't forget those seeds which, when roasted, serve as a crispy treat out of hand or a crunchy garnish over a perfectly pureed soup. Our founding fathers would have approved!

Tree McCann is a chef/educator at the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing who, like Charlie Brown, looks forward to the arrival of the "Great Pumpkin" each Halloween.

"Being a strong component of our native heritage, I enjoy finding new and delicious applications for this ever-so-abundant and basic autumn staple," she says.

What better way to honor our forefathers than by utilizing the leftover harvest to enhance our holiday tables? McCann is known to take the pumpkin shell and steep it in a pot of "Constant Comment" tea to enhance the beverage with a deeper layer of flavor. The tea becomes an excellent accompaniment to her pumpkin muffins.

Pumpkin is one of Carolyn Scamoffa's favorite ingredients to work with, and The Bake Works in Linwood owner is always excited in the fall, when pumpkins are readily available in the markets for use in her baking. Scamoffa knows not only are they full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, but they also add moisture and richness to a variety of foods. They are high in fiber and low in "bad" carbohydrates. Scamoffa believes pumpkin pie might actually be healthy.

Scamoffa chooses pumpkins to cook that weigh between three to five pounds, and ones that are heavy for their size so they are easier to handle. After washing the outer skin, she then cuts the pumpkin directly in half - from stem to bottom. Using a spoon, Scamoffa scrapes out all the seeds and "stringy stuff," saving the seeds to toast and enjoy as a snack, or to plant for her pumpkin crop next year.

She then lines a baking sheet with foil, placing the pumpkin cut-side down. After adding 1/4 cup of water to the pan she roasts the pumpkin for about an hour (time will vary, depending on the size) in a 350-degree oven until it is tender. Cooled completely, the flesh is scraped and pureed in a food processor. Cooked pumpkin will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days - or 6 months, when frozen.

Scamoffa uses pumpkin in many forms, but her pumpkin mousse can be used as filling for any cake, pie or parfait.

Pumpkin Mousse

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground all-spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup milk

2 egg yolks

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

In a heavy-bottom sauce pan, stir together sugar, gelatin, cinnamon, all-spice, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Stir in the milk. Cook, and stir over medium heat until gelatin dissolves. In a medium mixing bowl, slightly beat egg yolks. Gradually stir about half of the hot-milk mixture into yolks. Pour yolk mixture back into saucepan. Stir in pumpkin. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Cover and chill until the pumpkin mixture firms (1 to 2 hours), stirring occasionally.

In a chilled mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream and sugar. Beat with chilled beaters on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into pumpkin mixture.

Pumpkin muffins

Makes 12 large muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

15 ounces pumpkin puree

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup oil

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped dates or raisins

1 cup toasted walnuts

Directions:

Blend first four ingredients until combined. Stir in dry ingredients. Scoop into muffin cups, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until firm and a tester comes out clean (approximately 45 minutes).

Pumpkin risotto

Makes 4 portions

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 small yellow onion, medium diced

1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, medium diced

2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

8 cups chicken stock, hot

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup Pecorino romano cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 sage leaves

Cook onion and pumpkin in butter until tender, but do not color. Add rice and stir to coat for two minutes. Add wine and stir over medium heat until all liquid is absorbed. Add hot chicken stock, one 4-ounce ladle at a time, stirring until liquid is absorbed. When rice is al dente, remove from heat and stir in heavy cream and cheese. Season to taste. Additional butter is optional. Garnish with grated cheese and chopped sage.

Roasted pumpkin

Makes 4 portions

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin (2 pounds), cut into wedges with seeds removed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients:

Brush flesh with melted butter, and season well with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet, approximately 45 minutes, until golden and tender. Serve as a side vegetable.

No comments have been posted. Be the first poster!

PressofAtlanticCity.com offers everyone the opportunity to comment on published stories. However, it is impractical for editors to screen all comments.
If you believe a comment is offensive, please click on the abuse-reporting link and your objection will be considered by an editor. We encourage participants to use their real names, but inoffensive screen names are acceptable. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them.
Please post responsibly. Do not post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy.
Be polite. Don’t hate. Users who don’t play by the rules may be blocked from participating.

View our full terms of service and privacy agreement

Click here to report a comment as abusive.

You must login to post a new comment