Between the lack of rain and the outrageously hot weather, we didn’t grow any pumpkins this past summer. But one of Baby Bird’s coworkers, a Halloween enthusiast, gifted us with eight of her store-bought pumpkins. This was enough to make a pretty display on our porch, until the dogs rolled them down the steps and started bapping them around the yard. Then I gathered up six of the pumpkins, took them to the kitchen, washed them off, and went to work.
Broadly speaking, there are two ways of cooking a fresh pumpkin. You can cut it down the middle, scrape out the seeds and pulp, place the halves cut-side down in a baking dish with an inch of water, and bake until tender, after which you still have to scoop the flesh away from the scorching-hot rinds. Or you can cut your pumpkin into wedges, cut off the rind, cut the wedges into chunks, and steam them. Notice how many times the word “cut” is used as a verb in the second method. Of the two, that method is certainly the more labor-intensive. But for various reasons, it’s the one I used this time around.
Raw pumpkin rind is pretty tough, and cutting it off is no light task, even with an electric knife. I spent twenty to thirty minutes per pumpkin on the peeling and chunking alone. But the six pumpkins yielded thirteen pints of puree! I used one pint to make two pumpkin pies and put the rest into sterilized jars. Don’t they look nice in our cute vintage fridge?
The sight of the beautiful golden puree makes me happy every time I open the fridge door. It should keep for a full year in unopened jars, but I expect to use it up well before then. Anyone know a good recipe for pumpkin soup?
