Pumpkin Puree
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I am the girl who usually gets her pumpkin puree from a can, but this year I was inspired by all the garden-to-kitchen happenings in our home, so I decided to try my hand at making our own puree. I’m planning to use the puree in several different recipes, so I needed to start with this basic step before venturing further. Turned out it wasn’t so hard* (though definitely more work than opening a can), and the end result worked out great. Here’s how it went down…
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 1 hour
Pumpkin Puree
Print Recipe
I am the girl who usually gets her pumpkin puree from a can, but this year I was inspired by all the garden-to-kitchen happenings in our home, so I decided to try my hand at making our own puree. I’m planning to use the puree in several different recipes, so I needed to start with this basic step before venturing further. Turned out it wasn’t so hard* (though definitely more work than opening a can), and the end result worked out great. Here’s how it went down…
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 1 hour
Ingredients
Pumpkins Sugar, Acorn, Casper White or Jarrahdale all work
Servings:
Instructions
Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop out the innards (seeds and slimy web-like stuff).
Place the halves flesh-side-down on a foil-lined baking sheet, and roast for about an hour at 400 degrees.
(The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your pumpkin. You can test it by sliding a knife into the flesh — it should slide in easily, and the flesh will feel soft.) Once the flesh is soft, remove the pan from the oven and let the pumpkin cool for about 30 minutes, or until it’s comfortable to touch.
Peel the skin off — it should come right off (if not, it might need to be cooked a bit longer).
Transfer the pumpkin to a bowl and use an immersion blender to puree it (or transfer it to a blender or food processor and give it a puree). Use the puree in your favorite pumpkin recipes. Eat. Love.
Recipe Notes
*Ok, so it was actually a lot more work than opening a can, and to be honest, I’m not sure I’d do it again. If I could find a good, all-natural puree at the store, I’d probably buy it. But it was good to know this is an option, and my son and I had fun testing out the process. Who knows, maybe next year (when my muscles have recovered from cleaning out heaps of pumpkin innards) we’ll give it another go. Perhaps it might not be as Herculean an effort if we don’t do nine pumpkins at once. Just a hunch.
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*****
** You’ll see that I often don’t designate specific quantities and measurements in my recipes. I do this because you know better than I do how much food your family needs and what your tastes are. Cooking isn’t an exact science, anyway — it’s more of an art. (Baking is another story — it actually is science — so I include measurements for my baking recipes.) So use whatever quantity you’d like, make changes to suit your tastes, and substitute ingredients to reflect what’s fresh in the garden and what’s available in your kitchen.