Linus was right, not completely, because he was a day or so
off. The “Great Pumpkin” does rise up out of the kindest pumpkin patch at
this time every year, just not on Halloween night. No, the greatest pumpkins are the ones that
your neighbors set out at the curb after the scary night has passed while they
are putting up Christmas decorations.
I’m not one to look down on someone who makes their living
trash picking. We all have our
challenges and somehow needs must be met.
I do give a bad look to those who toss out a perfectly good pumpkin only
because the calendar says 11 instead of 10.
I’m going with that it is sinful to throw out a pumpkin. There’s nutrition and extremely good tastes
in that big, orange gourd. You just have
to know how to cook it. I think we can
all get behind the idea of free food, especially if it tastes good, so if you
see an unblemished pumpkin at your neighbors curb, grab it up. If you are afraid of getting busted, take a
shopping bag with you when you walk the dog after dark.
Every year during October, I used to run a “Guess the Weight
of the Pumpkin" contest at the high school where I taught Social Studies. The winner was announced on Halloween and the
pumpkin from the contest was served to the students as soup and cookies. The cookies were a sugar cookie recipe with
some pumpkin puree folded in. The soup
recipe follows. I scored big with
the students that day. Some of the faculty and
administration didn’t like the idea of me giving out food to the kids, but they
were mostly jackasses.
Two recipes follow, one for a velvety pumpkin bisque and the
other for cumin butter roasted pumpkin seeds.
For generations, Americans have been feeding their families on pumpkin
soup, fritters, cookies and puree. You
can/should/damn well better do the same thing.
_____
Pumpkin Bisque
1 medium pumpkin, about 8 pounds
1 spanish onion, diced
½ cup rice
1 stick unsalted butter
3 quarts of cold water
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup light brown sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
salt and white pepper
Preheat oven to 400.
Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh, leaving
only the firm meat. Put the pumpkin on a
baking sheet and roast it for about an hour, until it is cooked through and
lightly browned on top. Cool, peel then
chop the pumpkin into 1 inch chunks.
Heat a heavy-bottomed stock pot over low heat on the
stovetop. Add 2 tablespoons of
butter. When the butter has melted, add
the onions and sauté them until they are translucent. Add the rice, cook for another minute then
add the chopped pumpkin. Sauté the
pumpkin for about five minutes, until it is almost dry. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Add the water, turn up the heat, and bring
the soup to a boil. When it boils, turn
down the heat and simmer the soup for at least one hour. Stir occasionally so that the rice does not
stick to the bottom and burn.
When the soup has cooked for an hour, puree it in a blender
or run it through a food mill. Return
the soup to the stove and bring it back up to temperature. Add the cream, the sugar, the spices, salt
and pepper.
Just before serving, remove the soup from the heat. Cut the remaining butter into 1 teaspoon
sized pieces, stir the soup and add the butter, one piece at a time. Continue stirring until the butter has been
fully incorporated into the soup. Adjust
the seasoning with sugar, salt and pepper.
Do not boil after the addition of the butter because it will separate
out of the soup.
_____
Cumin Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
seeds from one pumpkin
1 tbs. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground cumin
1tbs. unsalted butter
1qt. water
Scoop the seeds and stringy membranes out of the pumpkin,
leaving the firm flesh for roasting. Put
the seeds in a colander and rinse with cold water, using your hands to separate
the seeds from the membranes. Preheat
the oven to 400°.
When separated, put the pumpkin seeds, salt water and butter in a
saucepan and boil to cook the seeds and reduce the water. When reduced by ¾, about 20 minutes, add the
cumin, stir, then pour the seeds and remaining water onto a baking sheet pan and
put it in the oven to roast. Check the
seeds every 10 minutes. With a metal
spatula, turn them occasionally, cooking them until they are golden brown.
They can be served as a snack or used to garnish pumpkin
soup.
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