Recipes That Will Make You Fall in Love With Pumpkin

Ingredients

1 pumpkin, about 3 to 4 pounds (save the seeds — toast them in a dry pan to serve)

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chile flakes (or to taste)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

1 Spanish onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3¾ cups vegetable stock

3 ounces heavy cream

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut into wedges or chunks (keep the skin on) and tip into a bowl. In a small bowl, combine the garam masala, 1 teaspoon each of the coriander and cumin, and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the pumpkin and toss well to coat in the spiced oil. Transfer to a baking tray, spread out evenly and roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, until the pumpkin is very soft when pierced with a fork. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion with a pinch of salt until transparent, about 10 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and remaining spices and chile flakes, and sauté for a few more minutes until fragrant. Pour in the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.

When the pumpkin is cool, use a spoon to scoop the soft flesh from the skins. Add pumpkin to the saucepan, discarding the skins. Remove from heat and blend the soup with a hand blender until creamy and smooth. Season to taste. Put back over a low heat and stir in the cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, then serve. Sprinkle the toasted seeds on top.

Thai Pumpkin Curry

“This curry — a perfect blend of creamy and spicy flavors — is nourishing and satisfying.” — Jessica Randhawa, chef and food photographer at The Forked Spoon

Serves 6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (plus more if you really love ginger)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash

1 Fresno chile, thinly sliced (plus more for serving)

1 jalapeño pepper, diced (omit if you prefer less spicy foods)

1 cup sugar snap peas, roughly chopped

2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 cups water, plus more if needed

1 tablespoon red curry paste

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling

1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 lime, juiced

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 cups baby spinach

12 ounces ramen noodles (2 ounces per bowl), cooked according to package instructions

Garnish: fresh chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, fresh lime juice, sliced chiles, sesame seeds

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally or until onion just starts to soften. Add the ginger, garlic and salt, and sauté for approximately 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium and add the butternut squash, Fresno chile and jalapeño pepper. Mix well. Continue to sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent vegetables and chiles from burning. Add the sugar snap peas and mushrooms.

Increase heat to high and add chicken broth, water, red curry paste, pumpkin puree, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice. Once boiling, add chicken breasts to the soup, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove chicken from the pot and shred. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the baby spinach. Cook soup just until the spinach has wilted. Remove from heat and season to taste, adding more water (if soup is too thick), salt, pepper, fish sauce or soy sauce to taste.

Divide prepared ramen noodles between bowls and add soup. Serve immediately.

Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions, fresh lime juice, sliced chiles and sesame seeds, if desired.

Perfectly Pumpkin Hummus With Herb Drizzle

“When we think of hummus, we think of chickpeas, but this dish can be so much more when you add pumpkin!” — Erin Fletter, CEO and founder of Sticky Fingers Cooking and author of Farm to Table

Serves 4 to 6

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the pumpkin hummus:

1 16-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

¼ cup pumpkin puree

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 small garlic clove, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ teaspoons salt

Paprika, optional for sprinkling

For the herb drizzle:

¼ cup Italian parsley leaves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup olive oil

Directions

Make the hummus: Drain and rinse 1 can garbanzo beans. Pop off the skins from the beans and discard the skins.

Combine the garbanzo beans, pumpkin puree, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and salt into a food processor or blender (or large bowl for use with an immersion blender).

Blend until smooth. Add some water if needed until it reaches the desired consistency. Transfer hummus to a bowl and clean out the food processor or blender if necessary.

Make the herb drizzle: Snip or tear Italian parsley leaves into small bits. Combine the parsley, lemon juice, salt and olive oil in a food processor or blender (or small bowl for use with an immersion blender). Blend until smooth and bright green. Drizzle on top of the hummus and sprinkle paprika on top, if using, before serving.

Sticky Rice Stuffing With Pumpkin and Chestnuts

“Many Chinese American families may serve a variation of this popular dish at Thanksgiving, next to the turkey and green bean casserole.” — Pat Tanumihardja, coauthor of Mortar and Pestle: Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen 

Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish

Cook time: 35 minutes

Soaking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1½ cups glutinous rice

1½ cups long-grain rice

3¾ cups water or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided

1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup chopped fennel bulb (½ medium bulb)

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 cups peeled and chopped pumpkin (1-inch cubes)

5 ounces peeled, cooked chestnuts, chopped

1 tablespoon sesame oil

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Chopped green onions for garnish

Directions

Put the glutinous rice and long-grain rice in a 6-quart pot and wash in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly. Add 3¾ cups fresh cold water or stock and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside for 1 hour.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onions and fennel, and stir and cook until fragrant and soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes until they start to wilt and release juices. Take off the heat.

Set the pot of rice on the stove and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the water is almost completely absorbed.

Place pumpkin and chestnuts on top of rice and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to low, and allow the steam to cook the rice for 10 minutes more.

Add sesame oil, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, black pepper and 2 tablespoons soy sauce, followed by the cooked mushroom mixture. Stir from the bottom to distribute the ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked and the rice is tender but not mushy; you should still see individual grains. Taste and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of soy sauce if desired.

If the rice is still hard, make a well in the center of the pot and add 2 tablespoons water or stock. Cover and raise the heat to high to generate more steam, then reduce heat and cook a few more minutes until tender. Moisten rice stuffing with vegetable stock if desired, and shower with cilantro and green onions. Serve as a side dish.