This recipe can be used for any winter squash.
Wash the pumpkin, snap off the stem, cut the pumpkin in half – a serrated knife can make the process easier. Scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers with a large spoon or ice cream scoop, set aside the pumpkin seeds for roasting later, put the fibers in your compost bin.
Now to cook the pumpkin – I prefer to roast mine in the oven but some folks prefer the microwave or stovetop methods.
Roasting:
Place the pumpkin cut side down into a roasting pan. Cover and roast in a hot oven 350 F. After about 45 minutes start checking for doneness, depending on your oven it can take up to an hour to cook.
Microwave:
Place the pumpkin into a microwaveable bowl. You might have to cut it into pieces to make it fit. Smaller pieces make scooping the pumpkin flesh easier. Put a couple of inches of water in the bowl, cover it, and put in the microwave. Start checking it after about 15-20 minutes, it usually takes about 30 minutes.
Stovetop:
Place the cut up pumpkin into the steamer basket or insert, an inch or so of water in the pot below and cook till soft about 20-30 minutes.
Once cooked let the pumpkin cool. Scoop the flesh from the rind with a large spoon. If you have a lot of “pumpkin water” you can set the flesh in a sieve to drain. Puree the flesh with a hand held blender, table top blender, food processor or you could get away with a mixer. Your puree is now ready to use or it can be frozen in zip lock bags for later use.
one 8 inch pumpkin should yield about 3 cups of puree
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