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Eat A Peck of Pumpkins
By Jill Banks

While pumpkins get plenty of attention for their starring role as Halloween jack-o'-lanterns, they also are a delicious autumn food. Low in calories and rich in vitamin A and potassium, these bright orange ambassadors of the squash family are featured in cuisines around the world. We've adapted these recipes from various sources. They're quick and easy, so you can fix them in a jiffy when you get home from work.


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French Pumpkin Soup
Adapted from Play with Your Pumpkins by Joost Eiffers & Saxton Freymann

Prepare this dish the night before you plan to serve it, and refrigerate it. When you return home the next evening, you'll just have to reheat the casserole.
  1 pumpkin (6 1/2 pounds to 9 pounds)
6-7 cups croutons
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
Salt and pepper
3 quarts light cream

Remove the "lid" from the top of pumpkin by cutting around the stem. Scoop out the fiber and seeds. Discard fibers, and save the seeds for roasting. Place croutons and cheese inside the pumpkin in layers. Season with salt and pepper. Add cream and replace the pumpkin lid. If the lid does not fit tightly, seal with foil to prevent evaporation. Bake at 350 for 2 hours. To serve, stir well, mixing in the soft cooked pumpkin flesh.

If you don't want to mess with a whole pumpkin, use canned pumpkin and layer it with the other ingredients in a crock-pot. You can cut calories by substituting chicken broth for part or all of the cream. If you cut out the cream entirely, serve with a dollop of nonfat sour cream. Serves 6.
 
Italian Pumpkin Stew
Adapted from Play with Your Pumpkins by Joost Eiffers & Saxton Freymann

For a quick dinner, prepare this stew (up to the point of adding the pumpkin) the night before. Before leaving for work, put it in your crock-pot and set the temperature on low. When you get in the door in the evening, add the pumpkin, and, voilà, dinner is ready in 30 minutes.

  1 small fennel bulb (chop coarsely, reserving the feathery green leaves)
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup rinsed lentils
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 quart vegetable stock
½ pound raw pumpkin or butternut squash, diced
Salt and pepper

Sauté onion for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Add fennel and cook for five more minutes. Add lentils, fennel seeds and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add pumpkin or squash and simmer for 30 more minutes. Chop and add fennel leaves just before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.
 
Argentine Pumpkin Stew
Adapted from Play with Your Pumpkins by Joost Eiffers & Saxton Freymann

Go ahead, experiment a little! Mix pumpkins, potatoes, peaches and corn to create this interesting dish from South America. Not just nutritious, it's a winner with kids. Why not fill your little trick-or-treaters with it before they hit the streets? Make this an easy after-work meal by using your crock-pot.
  1 large pumpkin
2 large onions
4 garlic cloves
olive oil
3 pounds chuck steak
1 can peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 1/2 cups beef broth
bouquet garni
1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed (if using red potatoes, do not peel)
2 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cans corn
12 canned yellow peach halves, sliced
syrup from canned peaches.

Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove fiber and seeds. Bake the pumpkin shell at 375° F for 30 minutes (or longer if the walls are thick). Sauté the onion and garlic until lightly browned. Brown the beef. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, broth and herbs. Simmer for one hour. Add sweet potatoes and pumpkin, and continue simmering for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes and pumpkin are tender. Stir in corn and peaches and cook for 15 more minutes. Serve in the pumpkin shell.

If you're using a crock-pot, prepare the ingredients the night before. Put everything but the corn and peaches into the crock-pot in the morning. When you arrive home, add the sweet corn and peaches and let them warm through for 30 minutes. If you want to serve the stew in the pumpkin shell, cook it the night before and warm it up before adding the stew. Serves 8-10.
 
Pumpkin Pancakes with Ginger Syrup
Here's a seasonal twist on the traditional pancake.
  2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/3 cups milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
4 eggs separated
1/2 stick butter or 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon oil.

Preheat oven to 200° F. Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine milk, pumpkin puree, egg yolks, butter, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and combine. Beat egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks form, and fold into pumpkin batter.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Pour 1/4-cup portions of the batter into the pan and cook for two to three minutes. Flip each pancake and cook the reverse side for about one minute. Keep cooked pancakes in the oven until all are ready. Serve with ginger syrup (recipe below), pineapple rings and strawberries. Serves 4-6.
 
Ginger Syrup
  1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons grated or finely chopped crystallized ginger
4 tablespoons butter (optional, if you are counting calories)

Bring all ingredients to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until the consistency of maple syrup.
 
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