Top Tips for Pumpkin Season

The arrival of autumn means one thing – pumpkins! As well as carving Halloween faces into the winter squash, why not take advantage of this gloriously fibre-rich flesh? Pick up a pumpkin that feels heavy for its size, with a smooth, firm skin and get cooking…

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie makes a delectable autumn treat and is served best with a dollop of fresh cream on top. For optimum results, spend an extra hour in the kitchen making your own pastry – it will be worth it!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Simply puree a cup of pumpkin and mix together with buttermilk along with the usual pancake ingredients to create a stack of perfectly fluffy pumpkin cakes.

Pumpkin Curry

Combine pumpkin with chick peas and coconut for a delicious dinner for the whole family. Make this dish some time ahead of serving so that all the wonderful flavours can fully develop.

Pumpkin Risotto

The pumpkin pieces add texture and substance to the popular rice dish, making it the ultimate autumn comfort food to enjoy on a cosy winter night.

Pumpkins at Cairnie Fruit Farm and Mega Maze

Pumpkin Soup with Rosemary

from the Kitchen of Mrs. Mash

Ingredients

• 1 dessert spoonful of olive oil

• about 1 kg pumpkin, peeled and chopped

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 cloves crushed garlic

• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried

• 500ml vegetable or chicken stock

• salt and crushed black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Gently fry the onion then garlic in the oil for about 2-3 min.

2. Add diced pumpkin and rosemary. Sauté for 2-3 min.

3. Add stock cover and cook for further 15 min or until pumpkin is soft.

4. Fish out as much of the rosemary as you can.

5. Blend it to a smooth paste. You may want to let it cool before you do this. The resulting mixture will be very thick and creamy.

6. Transfer the pureed mixture back to the saucepan and let it simmer.

7. Add salt & pepper until it’s ‘just right’ and stir.

8. Serve hot with a swirl of crème fraîche or natural yogurt in each bowl to serve. •

Did You Know...

The word Pumpkin was said for the first time in Charles Perrault’s version of the fairy tale Cinderella published in 1697. Before that they were referred to as “big melons”.

Cairnie Fruit Farm

in Cupar grows 4,000 of their own pumpkins for PYO each October, including some white and designer duck egg blue ones! They host a very popular Pumpkin Festival each Halloween weekend.