How To Cut Up Pumpkin

 

One day while surfing the Internet I happened to stumble across a forum where many people were lamenting how hard it was to cut up a whole, large pumpkin.  I've noticed over the years many people have a problem with this, especially those who have less strength and flexibility in their hands for various reasons.

Years ago I decided to cut up a pumpkin with an axe.  I was young and reckless, what can I say?   It worked fine but it was a bit - well, rough too.  Then I suddenly hit upon a better idea - the meat cleaver!   It worked like a charm.

Simply put down a good solid chopping board if you are using the kitchen bench, place your pumpkin on it, take your meat cleaver and with a handful of short, sharp chops you will have your pumpkin cut up in no time at all.  So clean, so simple, so fast and so stress free!  Of course if you have a wood chopping block this is also a perfect place to chop up your pumpkin.

If you use a good and sharp meat cleaver this works well even if you do not have particularly strong or flexible hands. 

Pumpkin Soup

One of the best things about winter is the opportunity to indulge my love for homemade soup.  Pumpkin soup is one of my favourites.  It's so filling, delicious, healthy and cheap to make.

This is the recipe I usually make.  As always, any leftovers which need using up can generally be added, such as vegetables, pasta, meat and so on - soup is usually very forgiving!

Chop up pumpkin pieces, wash and cook in a large pot. Allow to cool. Take out pumpkin pieces with a slotted spoon and peel off skin. Retain the water the pumpkin cooked in. Put the now skin-less pumpkin pulp back in the water and mash with a potato masher.  Alternatively you can roast pumpkin in the oven, remove the skin and mash for the soup. 

I give the cold pumpkin skins to the hens who enjoy eating them.

Next roughly chop:

2 - 3 large onions
4 - 5 cloves of garlic
3 - 4 rashers of bacon or 2 - 3 ham steaks

Saute in a little olive oil or butter until brown and then add to the pumpkin pulp and pumpkin water. Bring to the boil.  You can just add them directly to the pumpkin and water mixture if you prefer.

Whilst bringing to the boil add chicken stock or use 1 or 2 chicken oxo or instant stock cubes and add more water as necessary.

Add salt, a good teaspoon - check at the end to see if a little more is needed if it is a large pot.

If desired add 1 to 2 heaped tsps of curry powder, according to taste.

Simmer until cooked (usually about an hour).

During the last 5 - 10 minutes you can add if desired:

Pasta (spirals are nice).

Black pepper.

Finely chopped silver beet.

Freshly squeezed juice of an orange.

Or turn off and add:

Sour cream (stirred through or served as a dollop on a bowl of soup when served)

Fresh cream

Below : Self sown pumpkins and potatoes grow out of the compost heap. 

Bacon, Tomato, Pumpkin & Carrot Soup

A tasty, economical soup full of nutritious vegetables it's so easy in this slow cooker recipe or make it on the stove top.

Ingredients

3 large onions, chopped

6 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped finely

1 bacon hock

1 litre of beef stock

3 large carrots, diced

4 cups of pumpkin puree (or pieces)

4 cups of tomato puree (or fresh or canned tomatoes – Indian spiced tomatoes are nice in this)

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 cups dry pasta (spirals work well)

Cream, coconut cream or sour cream (optional)

Silver beet or spinach, diced (optional)

Brown the onions and garlic in a pan until they start to nicely caramelize.  Transfer to the slow cooker and add the bacon hock, beef stock, carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, curry powder, mixed herbs, salt and pepper.  Cook on high for 6 hours.  At that point remove the bacon hock . 

Use a blender or stick blender to smooth the soup and then return to the heat.  Remove the meat from the bacon hock in small bite-size pieces and return to the soup mixture with 2 cups of dry pasta and any diced spinach or silver beet you wish to add. Cook for another hour.

Add a can of coconut cream and simmer until the soup is hot at this point or upon serving drizzle cream or sour cream onto the top of the soup.

Serve with garlic bread or bread rolls.

The cooking time required will vary dependent upon the make of slow cooker you use.

Pumpkin Scones

If you're making pumpkin scones it's easy to go into pumpkin overload and make pumpkin scones.

Simply keep back a cup of that cooled, mashed pumpkin. Alternatively boil and mash a cup of pumpkin especially for the purpose.

Place it in a large bowl with 1 fresh, free range egg and ¼ a cup of sugar. Cream them together (just beating them together works fine too).

Add 2 tbsp of melted butter and mix.

Next add 2 cups of flour, 4 tsps of baking powder and a little salt and mix it all together. Add a dash of milk if necessary to bind it a little more and then transfer the dough to a lightly floured board. Knead very lightly (it won't take much) and roll out till it’s about 2.5 cm or 1 inch or so tall. Use a cooker cutter or glass to cut the dough into round scones. 

Put scones onto a lightly floured cooking tray. Cook in a hot oven (200C or 390F) for 10 to 15 minutes, watch they don’t burn!

Let them cool off a little on a baking rack and when they're still warm and fresh they're just perfect to eat, especially with a bowl of good soup on a cold, winter's day.  Simple, quick, cheap, tasty and really good.  

Course there are other ways to play with pumpkins too......