Pumpkins are popular autumn vegetables that are used both as decoration and to prepare delicious dishes. You can use it to prepare starters, main courses, soups and desserts that look appetizing and taste really good. In this article we have collected popular pumpkin recipes with different types of pumpkin that you can use to prepare delicious autumn dishes yourself.
The best varieties for pumpkin recipes
There are more than 800 varieties of pumpkin worldwide, but only some of them are edible. The best varieties used in most pumpkin dishes are butternut andHokkaido. Butternut pumpkins look like large pears and weigh up to 2 kilos. The name comes from the delicate buttery aroma that the variety has. The butternut pumpkin has only a few seeds in the lower part and therefore offers a lot of pulp for eating and cooking. The Hokkaido pumpkins have a dark orange color and are similar in shape to an onion. They have a delicate aroma and are one of the most popular and tasty pumpkin varieties.
The raw meat is very hard and can only be cut with a sturdy, sharp knife. Once you have halved the pumpkin, you should remove the seeds. The easiest way to do this is with a spoon or, for butternut pumpkins, with an ice cream scoop. Smooth pumpkin varieties can be easily peeled with a peeler and the ribbed ones can only be peeled with a knife. Now you can cut the pulp as you like and use it to prepare various pumpkin dishes. Tip: If you don't just want to prepare pumpkin recipes in the fall, you can freeze the cut pumpkin raw or pre-cooked and use it for cooking at a later date.
Make your own pumpkin puree or sauce
Basically you can fry, bake, steam or boil the pulp of the pumpkin until it is cooked. Depending on the variety and method of preparation, a different cooking time is required. The pumpkin will cook quickest if it is cut into pieces. If you would like to prepare pumpkin puree as a side dish or for a sauce, you should bake the pulp in the oven, puree it and season to taste.
You can use it to prepare delicious main dishes with or without meat, such as a vegan pumpkin curry with chickpeas and rice. For this recipe, the Hokkaido pumpkin is best, cut into small cubes and cooked in a pan with the other ingredients (without the rice).
Prepare risotto
If you prefer a vegetarian option, you can prepare a delicious risotto with steamed pumpkin pieces. For this you need the following ingredients:
- 450 g pumpkin flesh
- 1 finely chopped shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 THE BUTTER
- 1 liter of hot vegetable broth
- 1 bunch of spring onions
- 100 ml white wine
- 3 EL Crème fraîche
- 50 g grated Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Spaghetti with sage
For fans of Italian cuisine, various pasta dishes can be prepared with pumpkin. First, you should either bake the pumpkin flesh or boil it and mash it into a puree. Then simply cook the pasta as usual and prepare the sauce with the pumpkin puree, a little olive oil, onions, garlic and tomato sauce. You can also use the sauce for homemade pizza instead of store-bought tomato sauce.
Pumpkin soup
DiePumpkin soupensures a good mood even on a rainy day in autumn. It has a creamy taste and is one of the most popular autumn recipes. The basic ingredients for this are pumpkin, onions, carrots, butter, cream, vegetable broth, crème fraîche and spices. Pumpkin cream soup recipes with apples, ginger, potatoes and many other ingredients are also very popular. A great idea for serving pumpkin soup is to use a drained pumpkin instead of the peel.
Pumpkin gnocchi
Ingredients:
- 900 g Hokkaido pumpkin
- 1 No
- 3 tablespoons mashed potato powder
- 5 EL MEHL
- 50 g Butter
- Salt
- Pfeffer
- Nutmeg
- Romaine branches
- 100g grated Parmesan.
If you want to eat healthily, you can prepare a salad with pumpkin. Baked pumpkin tastes great when combined with baby spinach, walnuts and feta or goat cheese. This is a good recipe idea for lunch or dinner and also goes well with a diet.
The pumpkin is perfect for a slightly sweet side dish with meat and fish. It can be made into a puree, baked in the oven or steamed with other vegetables or fruit. You can also prepare an aromatic sauce for the meat.
The butternut pumpkin variety is perfect for pumpkin recipes with filling. The pumpkin is halved and filled as desired. You can either fill just the bottom part where there is less pulp or scrape and fill the whole pumpkin.
Here we provide the ingredients for a butternut pumpkin recipe that is prepared in the oven.
- 150g minced meat
- 100 g Emmentaler
- 1 stalk of leek
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 red onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 Tomato
- Butter for lubrication
- Rosemary
- Salt and pepper.
The stuffed pumpkin can also be made sweet. For this you need a larger Hokkaido pumpkin, apples, dried fruit, for example dried plums, apricots, raisins, etc., grated orange and lemon peel, nuts of your choice, honey and cinnamon. Put everything in the seeded pumpkin and bake in a baking tray with a little water or baking paper for 2-3 hours with the lid on at 200 degrees. The pumpkin is ready when the flesh becomes soft.
This is an easy quick dessert idea that is perfect for fall. The pumpkin is cut into pieces and baked in the oven at 200 degrees with a little melted butter, brown sugar and a pinch of salt. So easy and so delicious!
Many pumpkin dishes are perfect for breakfast. For example, you can prepare delicious pancakes with pumpkin puree and enjoy them with pumpkin jam. Simply baked pumpkin pieces are also suitable for breakfast and a handful of pumpkin seeds combines well with any bowl of cereal.
Smoothies are a good alternative to breakfast because they fill you up and are super tasty to prepare at the same time. Put a frozen banana, three spoons of pumpkin puree, a teaspoon of honey, 150 milliliters of soy or almond milk and a pinch of cinnamon in a blender and puree until done.
You can prepare many different desserts with pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cakes taste delicious and have a delicate aroma. Prepare the batter for the muffins or cake as usual, but add 6-7 tablespoons of pumpkin puree. Sprinkle with some pumpkin seeds for a delicious fall dessert.
