The pumpkin is far from just a symbol of Halloween, but as you have probably already noticed, it canit's also a great food that can be used in a plethora of recipes.
In addition, it contains huge amounts of vitamin A, C, fibre, beta-carotene and other health benefits. And it is about its use in the kitchen that our article today will be about.where we will present 5 of the best autumn recipes featuring this crop.
1. Pumpkin risotto
Pumpkin risotto is perfect for cold autumn evenings when you're craving a light vegetarian meal. It is not time-consuming to prepare, it will fill you up well, and it will be a great way to eat it .and tastes delicious and you can scent the whole house with the captivating smell of autumn.
Ingredients
- Half a Hokkaido pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500g round grain rice
- 1.5 litres of water, for a stronger flavour 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
- 1 onion
- 50g butter
- 1,5 dcl dry white wine
- Herbs and spices for seasoning
- A pinch of salt and pepper
- 70g grated cheese for sprinkling (e.g. parmesan)
How to proceed
First of all, preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Before the oven heats up, cut the pumpkin into small pieces and place them, mixed with oil, on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake the pumpkin for about 30 minutes until it is soft.
Pour water or stock into a saucepan and cook the rice according to the instructions on the packaging. In another pot, melt the butter, add the finely chopped onion and fry until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Then add the drained rice, pour in the wine, stir and let the wine evaporate.
Using an immersion blender , blend half the pumpkin, season with salt and pepper or herbs to taste. Stir the puree and cheese into the rice. Finally, stir the remaining pumpkin pieces into the finished dish and sprinkle the risotto with cheese.
How pumpkin risotto tastes
This unusual pumpkin risotto could be a hit with family members who don't have pumpkin dishes because the flavour is not as intense as, for example, pumpkin soup. If you've never had pumpkin risotto before, it's definitely worth a try and chances are you'll love it as much as we do.
What are the nutritional values (per 100g):
- 180 kcal
- 34g carbohydrates
- 3g protein
- 2g fat
2. Pumpkin chips
Vegetable chips have been a big hit lately. The pumpkin ones are a great alternative to the fried, unhealthy potato chips from the supermarket that pumpkin reliably replaces. After trying the recipe, I think you'll agree with us. Their preparation is really easy and can be done by everyone.
Ingredients
- Hokkaido pumpkin
- Olive oil for spreading
- A pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning
How to proceed
Cut the pumpkin into very thin slices with a knife. You can also use a peeler, depending on what you find easier to work with.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, arrange the pumpkin slices side by side on the tray and brush them witholive oil, season with spices and place in a preheated oven at 180 ͒C.
Bake the pumpkin until golden brown, about 30 minutes, until the chips are crispy.
How pumpkin chips taste
Apart from salt and pepper, thyme is great for flavouring, which makes the taste even more interesting. The chips can also be served with yoghurt dip or guacamole. If you have never tried baking anything like this before, you will be surprised by the result. Children will also enjoy them, as they may not even like the taste of the crispy vegetables with the pumpkin.
What are the nutritional values (per 75g)
- 200 kcal
- 24g carbohydrates
- 5g protein
- 11g fat
3. Pumpkin bread
Cocoa and dark chocolate lovers in particular should pay attention to this recipe. Pumpkin bread will be "just right" for them."It is not difficult to prepare and is a great way to mask the atypical taste of pumpkin .
Ingredients for the puree:
- Half a medium-sized hokkaido pumpkin
- 15g sugar or 15 g of other sweetener
Ingredients for the batter:
- 60g butter
- 100g sugar or other sweetener according to your preference
- 2 pinches of table salt
- 2 eggs
- Cup of sour cream
- 400g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons Dutch cocoa
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- High quality dark chocolate
How to proceed
Making the pumpkin bread itself is very simple, so anyone can do it. First, clean the pumpkin halves and remove the seeds. Then cut it into cubes and put it in the oven at 200°C for 20 minutes to soften. Then dump the cubes into a blender along with the sour cream to make a puree and sweeten it.
Stir in the eggs, cinnamon, softened butter, sugar and salt, plain flour and soda into the purée thus formed. Divide the dough into two halves, placing the first half in a greased and floured tin.
Colour the other half with Dutch cocoa and add to the tin. Finally, all that's left to do is sprinkle the dough with chocolate shavings or chopped dark chocolate and you can pop it in the oven.
The loaf will be fine for 40 minutes at 180°C, after which it should cool for at least 10 minutes before it can be turned out.
How the pumpkin sandwich tastes
As we said in the introduction, pumpkin bread with chocolate is a great optionIt is a great way to disguise the taste of pumpkin so that even someone who would never eat risotto or soup can enjoy it. The flavour is very intensely chocolatey, and you will only notice the pumpkin minimally compared to soup. So if you want to process the pumpkin simply, but at the same time tasty, there is nothing to think about.
What are its nutritional values (per 100g):
- 280 calories
- 40g carbohydrates
- 10g fat
- 8g protein
4. 4 g protein 4 g protein 4 g protein 4 g protein 4 g protein 4 g fat
Pumpkin soup is an ageless classic that every pumpkin lover should definitely try. Intense pumpkin aroma, full flavour, but at the same time no unnecessary ingredients to spoil the excellent nutritional profile of this dish. Plus, this is a really simple recipe, so you won't have to spend long hours in the kitchen.
Ingredients
- One medium-sized hokkaido pumpkin
- Half an onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Pinch of ground ginger (or 1cm of root if using fresh)
- 15g butter
- Pumpkin seed oil for seasoning
How to proceed
Again, the whole recipe is very simple. Just cut the unpeeled hokkaido into cubes and bake in the oven at 170°C for 25 minutes. Then remove the cubes and add the fried onions in butter, salt, pepper and season with ginger.
Then put this mixture in a pot and let it boil gently for another 15 minutes. Then blend with a stick blender and serve the soup.
How it tastes
The taste of pumpkin soup is frankly very intense, so it may not suit everyone. There are countless recipes out there, most of which use stock, which in turn gives the soup a completely different flavour. However, the recipe without broth is easier and we personally liked it the best. You can soften the flavour of the soup by adding cream or pumpkin seed oil, which also adds a very specific flavour.
What are the nutritional values (in 100ml)
- 58 kcal
- 10g carbohydrates
- 3g protein
- 1g fat
5. Pumpkin juice/syrup
Finally, we have saved a specialty for the more adventurous among you. Pumpkin juice offers the unadulterated and intense taste of pumpkinwhich may not be to everyone's taste, but if you like it, you'll love this juice too. It may take longer to make, but it is certainly not laborious and, again, anyone can do it.
Ingredients
- 1kg hokkaido pumpkin
- 0.4kg sugar orother sweetener
- Tablespoon of citric acid
- One lemon
How to proceed
The process of making pumpkin syrup is quite simple. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces and pour in about a litre of water. Add the sugar, citric acid and peeled lemon and leave to infuse for 24 hours. Blend everything while still raw and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
How pumpkin juice tastes
To be honest, the pumpkin juice is quite tastybut if you get used to it, you will definitely like it. If you only use the recommended amount of sugar, you'll need to dilute the syrup with water to about 1:20, but that's not a problem.
What is the nutritional value (in 10ml syrup/200ml finished juice):
- 20 kcal
- 4g carbohydrates
Well, that's it from us for this article. We hope you enjoyed it and give these recipes a try. If you have any other tips for pumpkin specialties, feel free to let us know in the comments.
Why can you trust us?
Hey! Hey! I'm Mirek and I've been working at World Fitness almost since the beginning, except for a small break. But before that I lived only in the gym for a few years, doing deadlifts and power triathlon, going to competitions and winning a few medals.
Probably the one I value the most is the national record in the WUAP federation. But besides working out, I was also interested in food and supplements, I liked to enjoy my free timeI used to read different researches and professional books in my free time to know as much as possible.