PUMPKIN DAY AND 4 RECIPES!

Today is October 26th, Pumpkin Day. In autumn and winter pumpkins often end up on a plate, or at least in front of the front door for decoration. There are hundreds of different pumpkins. Different colors, shapes, and sizes, but not all are edible. A lot of them are, but some of them are just used for decoration. Some don’t have a lot of meat, some taste bitter and therefore are not used in cooking, but there are also those that contain a toxic substance called cucurbitacin and are therefore not edible. The most famous edible pumpkins are butternut squash and Hokkaido pumpkin.

Butternut squash

It is an extremely rich source of vitamin A. 200 grams of cooked butternut squash contains more than 400% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A! It is also a rich source of vitamins C and E, thiamine (B1), niacin (B3), folic acid (B9), vitamin B6 as well as magnesium, potassium, and manganese. It doesn't contain many calories and is also full of fiber. It is used for savory as well as for sweet dishes.

Hokkaido pumpkin

Hokkaido pumpkin is full of vitamins A, B, and C as well as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and beta-carotene. 100 grams of pumpkin contains approximately 40 kcal and 8 grams of protein. Like butternut squash, Hokkaido pumpkin is also used to cook savory and sweet dishes such as pies, muffins, bread ... The whole pumpkin is edible.

Today I am sharing with you 4 recipes in which the main ingredient is Hokkaido pumpkin. Of course, you can replace Hokkaido pumpkin with butternut squash or something else, but keep in mind that as a result, you will have to adjust the seasoning.

1. HOKKAIDO PUMPKIN SOUP

I made this soup in September, so you can see the recipe here.

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2. CREAMY RISOTTO WITH HOKKAIDO PUMPKIN

You can make risottos with a lot of different ingredients, but I have to admit that this one, with Hokkaido pumpkin, might be my favorite.

Recipe

Ingredients (for 4 persons):

▫️300 g of rice

▫️450 g of Hokkaido pumpkin

▫️5 tbsp of olive oil

▫️2 onions

▫️900 ml of water

▫️0.5 tsp of turmeric

▫️1 tsp of garlic powder

▫️1 tsp of onion powder

▫️0,5 tsp of powdered paprika

▫️2 tsp of salt

▫️pinch of pepper

▫️0,25 tsp of nutmeg

▫️1 tbsp of soy sauce

▫️1 tbsp of coconut cream

▫️1 tbsp of vegan butter

Method:

👉🏼Preheat the oven to 200°C (290℉).

👉🏼Peel 450 g of pumpkin (about half of the larger pumpkin), cut it into small cubes, put it on baking paper, and pour it over with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Mix the pieces with a spoon, so that the oil is on all the sides of the pumpkin. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is baked (no need for it to turn brown, it just needs to be soft).

👉🏼When the pumpkin is baked, blend half of the pieces with 50 ml of water to make it into a puree and save the other half for later.

👉🏼Sauté onions on 3 tbsp of oil. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well. Add the rice and then add 900 ml of water. Add the turmeric, onion and garlic powder, powdered paprika, 2 tsp of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

👉🏼When the rice is cooked, add nutmeg, soy sauce, coconut sour cream, and vegan butter. Mix it well. Finally, stir in the remaining pieces of pumpkin. If necessary, add more salt and pepper.

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3. SAVORY MUFFINS WITH HOKKAIDO PUMPKIN

Delicious savory muffins can be served as a side dish or even for a quick snack.

Recipe

Ingredients (for 12 muffins):

▫️210 g of Hokkaido pumpkin

▫️60 g of vegan cheese

▫️250 g of flour

▫️70 ml of oil + 1 tbsp

▫️200 ml of coconut yogurt

▫️250 ml of plant-based milk

▫️2 egg substitutes (I used vegansko.si 's egg substitutes. You can also use chia egg (1 tbsp chia+3 tbsp water for one egg)

▫️2 tsp of baking powder

▫️1 tsp of salt

▫️0,5 tsp of pepper

▫️0,25 tsp of powdered paprika

▫️2 tbsp of chopped parsley

▫️2 tbsp of chopped chives

▫️10 leaves of chopped basil

Method:

👉🏼Preheat the oven to 190℃ (375℉).

👉🏼Wash the pumpkin (you don’t need to peel it) and cut it into small cubes, about 0,5 cm x 0,5 cm.

👉🏼On1 tbsp of oil sauté pumpkin cubes until they are golden-brown color. Then turn off the stove.

👉🏼Meanwhile, mix the wet ingredients together (oil, coconut yogurt, plant-based milk, egg substitutes (if you are making chia egg, mix the water and chia seeds and wait about 5 minutes for the seeds to become jelly) and dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and powdered paprika).

👉🏼Mix them well and then add the dry ones to the wet ones.

👉🏼Cut the vegan cheese into small cubes and add them to the mixture. Also, add herbs and baked pieces of pumpkin.

👉🏼Fill the baking tray for muffins with a mixture, about 1cm-0.5 cm to the top.

👉🏼Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

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4. HOKKAIDO PUMPKIN PIE

The main ingredients for the stuffing are Hokkaido pumpkin, orange juice, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. The dough is made of only 4 ingredients: flour, butter, salt, and water.

Recipe

Ingredients:

▫️700 g of Hokkaido pumpkin

▫️2 oranges

▫️110g of brown sugar

▫️Vegan substitutes for 4 egg yolks (the substitute I used)

▫️50 g of vegan butter

▫️1 tsp of cinnamon

▫️0,5 tsp of dried ginger

▫️0,25 tsp of nutmeg

▫️2 tsp of vanilla extract

▫️250 ml of coconut yogurt

▫️For the dough: 300 g of white flour, 170 g of butter, 1 tsp of salt, and 70 ml of cold water

Method:

👉🏼Preheat the oven to 180°C (350℉).

👉🏼Cut the pumpkin into small pieces (you don’t need to peel the pumpkin) and sauté it in a pan with 50 g of butter. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes. (The pumpkin must become soft.)

👉🏼While you sauté the pumpkin, juice two oranges and add the juice to the pumpkin. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

👉🏼After 10 minutes, turn off the fire and cool the stuffing.

👉🏼In the meantime, thinly roll out the dough (0.2-0,4 cm) in the dimensions of the baking tray or a few inches over the edge. Move the rolled dough into a baking tray and continue to prepare the stuffing.

👉🏼In a bowl mix together the sugar and egg yolk substitute. Add the mixture to the stuffing, and also add the coconut yogurt.

👉🏼Pour the stuffing into a baking tray. Cut the excess edges but leave 1cm of dough over the stuffing and then fold that edge over it.

👉🏼Roll out the rest of the dough again and cut it into strips. Use the strips to finish the pie.

👉🏼Leftover dough can be baked separately. (It also depends on the size of the baking tray.)

👉🏼Bake the pie for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C (320℉) and bake it for another 15-20 minutes or until the dough turns golden brown.

👉🏼Eat the pie in the next few days. 🥧