5 ways to (Pumpkin) Spice up your life!
With the annual visit to the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving and ALL those guts, it is the most wonderful time of the year (for me, anyway). In the spirit of Cotswold Veg Box and aiming for as little waste as possible, we thought we’d put together our favourite ways to make sure no pumpkin goes to waste, whether you’ve a savoury, sweet or seed tooth, there’s something for you in here.
Pumpkin, Feta and Lamb Rump Tray Bake
A dreamy lil’ tray bake. This was my first go at cooking pumpkin and the way the skin cooks was a lovely surprise!
You’ll need:
1kg pumpkin, deseeded and sliced into wedges (leave the skin on)
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg British lamb rumps (about 4)
2 tbsp za’atar spice mix
100g feta, crumbled
50g macadamia nut halves or cashews, roughly chopped
And for the salsa verde:
Large handful each fresh parsley, oregano, rosemary and mint leaves (available as a CVB add-on, here)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped
1 tsp dried sumac
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Method:
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Toss the pumpkin wedges with 1 tbsp of the oil, then season. Spread out on a large roasting tray and roast for 20 minutes.
Rub the lamb rumps with the za’atar and the remaining oil. When the pumpkin has been cooking for 20 minutes, add the lamb to the tray and roast for 30 more minutes for medium-rare. Remove the lamb from the roasting tray and put on a lipped board to rest for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the nuts over the pumpkin, then return to the oven for 5 minutes.
Put all the salsa verde ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a coarse paste (or pound in a large pestle and mortar).
Slice the lamb and return to the pan with any resting juices. Crumble over the feta and drizzle with salsa verde to serve.
We served it up with a side of giant couscous, soaked in the lamb juices, green beans and beetroot from last week’s veg box.
Original recipe here.
2. Pumpkin & Sage Ravioli
A labour of love, but as the shelves of pasta dwindle again, it can’t hurt to try your hand at making your own!
For the filling:
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
50 gm butter, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
600 gm peeled pumpkin, diced
60 ml dry white wine
1 tsp thyme
4-5 fine gratings of nutmeg
60 gm parmesan or pecorino, finely grated, plus extra to serve
Eggwash, for brushing
For the pasta:
250 gm "00" flour
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the sauce:
200 gm butter, chopped
1 cup (loosely packed) sage leaves
Method:
For egg pasta dough, pulse flour and 1 tsp salt in a food processor to combine. Add eggs, yolk and olive oil, and process until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to a smooth dough, dusting with extra flour if a little sticky. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour to rest.
Sauté onion in oil and half the butter in a wide shallow saucepan over medium heat until onion is tender and starting to caramelise (10-15 minutes). Add garlic, stir until fragrant (1 minute), then remove mixture from pan and set aside. Add remaining butter and pumpkin to pan, and cook uncovered until just tender (8-10 minutes).
Add wine and 100ml water, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and pumpkin is very tender (5-8 minutes). Add thyme and nutmeg, return onion and garlic to pan, then set aside to cool (30 minutes). Add parmesan, season to taste and stir to combine.Divide pasta dough into 6 pieces and, working with a piece at a time, flatten then roll through a pasta machine, starting on the widest setting and dusting with flour as necessary. Fold in half and repeat until pasta is smooth and silky, then continue rolling and folding, reducing the settings a notch each time, until dough 3mm thick. Cut out 8cm rounds and place on a tray lined with baking paper, separating each layer with a sheet of baking paper and covering with a damp tea towel until all the dough is rolled and cut.
Working in batches, place pasta rounds in a row and spoon 1 tsp pumpkin filling onto the centre of each. Brush edges with eggwash, then place another round on top. Starting closely around filling, press outwards to seal completely, then trim to a 7cm round with cutter. Place on a tray lined with baking paper, separating each layer with more baking paper, and refrigerate.
For sage butter, melt butter in a saucepan until foaming and nut brown (1-2 minutes). Add sage, remove from heat and stir gently until crisp (10 seconds). Transfer to a bowl.
Cook ravioli in batches in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (2-4 minutes). Transfer with a slotted spoon to warm bowls. Drizzle with sage brown butter, scatter with parmesan or pecorino and serve immediately.
Original recipe here. (It says 40 minutes prep time, it is lying to you. Allow 2 hours!)
3. Pumpkin loaf
For the sweet tooth and a great way to use up those guts.
A spooky twist on the classic carrot.
For the cake:
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 eggs
220g castor sugar
120ml vegetable oil
220g pumpkin puree (from about 350g raw pumpkin, cooked) - we used the guts and then made up any weight difference with flesh from the top of the pumpkin… didn’t impact carving space!
80g raisins
zest of 1 large orange
20g pumpkin seeds, for garnish
For the cream cheese frosting:
170g cream cheese, at room temperature
85g butter, softened
100g brown sugar
zest of ½ an orange
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan-forced) and line a loaf tin of about one kilogram capacity with baking paper. Set aside for now.
Combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until creamy, then add the vegetable oil and cooled pumpkin puree. Stir in the raisins and orange zest and mix together until combined. Sift in the dry ingredients, and fold gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula – be careful not to mix too much as this will give the cake a slightly rubbery texture. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and place in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 60 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven (but leave the oven on) and allow to cool on a cake rack for about 30 minutes before turning it out onto a serving plate.
While the cake is cooling, toast the pumpkin seeds for the garnish by spreading them out in a single layer on a small ovenproof tray and baking in the oven until they are fragrant and tinged golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
To make the icing, place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for a minute until creamy. Add the softened butter, brown sugar and orange zest and continue to beat until smooth and creamy. Keep refrigerated until you're ready to ice the cake.
When the cake is completely cool, spread the brown sugar icing on top and scatter with the toasted pumpkin seeds.
Original recipe here.
4. Pumpkin Risotto
The perfect autumnal meal. Also, you can make it look super fancy and fun if you stuff it back into the pumpkin to serve!
For the risotto:
1kg pumpkin, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
bunch of sage, leaves picked, half roughly chopped, half left whole
1½l vegetable stock
50g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
300g risotto rice (we use carnaroli, Carluccio calls it the ‘champagne of rice’)
1 small glass white wine
50g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, finely grated
Method:
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Toss the pumpkin in 1 tbsp oil together with the chopped sage. Scatter into a shallow roasting tin and roast for 30 mins until brown and soft.
While the pumpkin is roasting, prepare the risotto. Bring the stock to the boil and keep on a low simmer. In a separate pan, melt half the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook gently for 8-10 mins until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally. Stir the rice into the onions until completely coated in the butter, then stir continuously until the rice is shiny and the edges of the grain start to look transparent.
Pour in the wine and simmer until completely evaporated. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, and stirring the rice over a low heat for 25-30 mins, until the rice is cooked al dente (with a slightly firm, starchy bite in the middle). The risotto should be creamy and slightly soupy.
At the same time, gently fry the whole sage leaves in a little olive oil until crisp, then set aside on kitchen paper. When the pumpkin is cooked, mash half of it to a rough purée and leave half whole. When the risotto is just done, stir through the purée, then add the cheese and remaining butter and leave to rest for a few minutes. Serve the risotto scattered with the whole chunks of pumpkin and the crisp sage leaves.
Original recipe here using butternut squash. It’s my favourite risotto recipe, works perfectly!
5. SAVE THE SEEDS
No, we didn’t forget the most obvious one, we just left it until last because it’s the most fiddly. We spent HOURS trying all the tips and tricks to make separating the seeds from the guts and then from the hull so you don’t have to… but it still might not save you much time.
(Now we know why Pumpkin seeds are so expensive!)
Firstly, put the guts into a bowl and cover with water. The seeds will float to the top and be easier to separate into another bowl.
The seeds are perfectly fine to eat with the hull on so you can either season them now with chilli powder or simply salt and olive oil or, if you plan to separate the seed, leave them plain. Either way, pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 200c checking on them occasionally.
Once roasted, allow to cool and, if seasoned… enjoy!
If you want to get to the green seed, pinch between your forefinger and thumb to crack the seed slightly and peel off the sides. Yes, individually. Yes, it does take forever. But it’s soooo worth it.
Bonus tip: Plant your seeds to P.Y.O next year!
We’d love to see how you all get creative with your pumpkins, both carving and cooking!
Tag us in your photos or email them in to hello@cotswoldvegbox.com
