Justine Larbalestier

reading, writing, eating, drinking, sport

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Pumpkin

I’ve been cooking with pumpkin a lot of late.1 Mostly butternut because I loves it. But also spaghetti cause, well, weird! And I’m starting to experiment with pumpkins I’d never seen before. The US is the land of gourds. But I’m running out of ideas.

Here’s the thing though: I do not have a working oven or grill. All I have is gas burners on top of the stove. I can boil, I can steam, I can fry. I cannot bake or grill.

Thus far I’ve made pumpkin stir fry, pumpkin curry, lots of different pumpkin salads,2 steamed pumpkin with herb3 garlic butter, pumpkin mash, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin fritters. I’ve discovered that pumpkin and maple syrup are a match made in heaven.4

Anyone got any other ideas? But PLEASE no recipes requiring an oven or a grill. Pumpkin pie and scones are not a possibility in this particular New York kitchen.

Thank you!

  1. Note for USian readers, Australians do not use the word “squash” to refer to anything pumpkin-like. Squash is a soft vegetable that bears no relationship to any gourd. [↩]
  2. Thai, Moroccan, and out-of-Justine’s brain [↩]
  3. marjoram, chives, parsley [↩]
  4. I’m sure you North Americans already knew that. Australia is not really the land of either pumpkin or maple syrup. [↩]

Posted by Justine at 12:29, 11 November 2007 under Food, New York City/USA, Sydney/Australia | 23 Comments »

Comments

  1. Kadie-Wa Says:

    have you tried a Pumpkin Puree?? or something like a spread on crackers or bread. I like pumpkin bread, you have to bake bread. hmmm…what else. I’ve got a site full of pumpkin things, if you want it.

    November 11th, 2007 at 12:39 PM

  2. Kadie-Wa Says:

    I (being the extremely impatient person I am) am going to give you the site. it’s a really cool site. I think i found some things i’m going to make for thanksgiving.

    http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook.htm#recipe

    I’ve been watching foodnetwork for years, and if you look up some stuff on their site, they will have good stuff too, but most of their recipies include ovens/grills. and me not a fan of grills. everything i make tends to burn. so i stay away from those.

    November 11th, 2007 at 12:50 PM

  3. Eliza Says:

    Butternut risotto. I saw a nice recipe for it on the america’s test kitchen tv show on pbs.

    November 11th, 2007 at 1:18 PM

  4. Patrick, The Space Lord Says:

    I didn’t know you could eat pumpkins. I thought they were for carving faces into and placing where your missing head is.

    November 11th, 2007 at 1:37 PM

  5. Kadie-Wa Says:

    lol patrick

    November 11th, 2007 at 1:55 PM

  6. ebear Says:

    pumpkin butter, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin soup.

    All of them made with american-style sugar pumpkin, not winter squash, mind you.

    squash-bacon soup.

    squash is my favorite vegetable.

    November 11th, 2007 at 2:04 PM

  7. 7. Justine Says:

    Kadie-Wa: Thank you!

    Eliza: You’re a genius! Risotto. Why didn’t I think of that? I could do it with gorgonzola. Yum!

    Ebear: All the pudding recipes I know involve baking.

    November 11th, 2007 at 2:12 PM

  8. Sarah Ockler Says:

    Justine, try http://www.vegweb.com. Tons of great veggie recipes – you’re bound to find something! I’d give my fave spaghetti pumkin, smoked gouda “mac & cheese” recipe, but alas, oven required… (okay, that was mean, sorry!)

    November 11th, 2007 at 4:25 PM

  9. Will Says:

    Grand Sichuan on St. Marks (and another on 50 + 9th) has some delicious spicy pumpkin dishes. You really need to be able to handle the heat though. No clue on the recipes but maybe you can puzzle it out from the dish. I also recommend the “Green Parrot” which is cold baby spinach in a ginger/vinegar sauce. Not pumpkin but stops the burning.

    November 11th, 2007 at 4:27 PM

  10. 10. Justine Says:

    Will: You are such a wuss. Their dishes aren’t hot at all!

    But, yeah, pumpkin in garlic and black bean is one of my stir fry dishes.

    November 11th, 2007 at 4:36 PM

  11. Lucy Kemnitzer Says:

    http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/ingredients/pumpkin.php#recipes

    Originally I forgot that my lj friends page has you on a feed and I commented over there. Any custard like thing that can be baked can also be steamed — you know, pot with hot water, set the dish of custard inside and mostly above water. Also, if you get a Dutch oven, which is just a big thick-walled cast iron pot, you can put it on top of the stove and bake things in it. At least you’re supposed to be able to.

    And here’s some recipes I have not investigated:
    http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/ingredients/pumpkin.php#recipes

    I have made pumpkin ravioli. And I have made winter melon in spaghetti sauce, on the advice of the woman who sold me the winter melon, and it was good enough. So you could do that with pumpkin too. And you could fill empanadas (turnovers) with pumpkin, or also fill dumplings. You can cook empanadas in a skillet (especially if you have the cast-iron kind), and dumplings are of course steamed or boiled anyway.

    Why does your blog take away all the capital letters in the comments? What if someone wanted to include a URL with capital letters in it? Would the link be broken?

    November 11th, 2007 at 6:07 PM

  12. Lawrence Schimel Says:

    When we were in Argentina for the honeymoon, I ate a lot of pumpkin. They served mashed pumpkin instead of mashed potatoes as a side, frequently, and also some yummy pumpkin raviolis.

    (Sara Rojo also made some Yummy pumpkin raviolis with a little dumpling maker she bought in Chinatown on a trip to NYC.)

    November 11th, 2007 at 6:58 PM

  13. Lawrence Schimel Says:

    When your Mum was here, did she have the jabali with pumpkin? (I think she had sole, actually, but at the same restaurant I’m thinking of)

    there’s also a very good (according to both my husband and my own parents) chicken with pumpkin tajin at the local pan-Arabic restaurant Al-Jaima (although Isma prefers the lamb with plums).

    November 11th, 2007 at 7:00 PM

  14. e. Lockhart Says:

    I’ve made this twice in the past two weeks—curried butternut squash soup with coconut milk.

    you can ignore the demand for palm sugar and just use regular
    plus I used powdered ginger as I am a lazy lass
    but it is awesome

    November 11th, 2007 at 10:32 PM

  15. lili Says:

    my grandma in Adelaide calls pumpkin ‘trombone’. i have absolutely no idea why. but she is suspicious of it cause when she was in england it wasn’t eaten by people, only horses.

    November 11th, 2007 at 10:58 PM

  16. janet Says:

    I recently made a very delicious pumpkin (and by that I mean “pumpkin”) candy. Pumpkin puree, sugar, coconut. Supposedly based on a Brazilian recipe. Was a hit at a Halloween party. Can post the recipe if you would like it.

    November 12th, 2007 at 12:51 AM

  17. janet Says:

    Also, just looked in my current favorite cookbook, “Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine,” by Daniel Boulud, and it has some interesting looking recipes, such as Cuban Creole Stew (braised beef brisket with chorizo and squash). If you pick up this cookbook, don’t be deterred by the fact that more than half the recipes begin “The day before you plan to serve this dish, do xyz.” Usually he just wants you to marinate or soak something. The recipes I’ve tried have been pretty easy.

    November 12th, 2007 at 12:58 AM

  18. Lori S. Says:

    Butternut puree is good. I also exchange it freely with sweet potatoes.

    There are a zillion variations on butternut soup available — with ginger, with chilies (oh, I love chilies and squash together, especially the smoky chilies), with cinnamon…and they’re all good.

    November 12th, 2007 at 1:05 PM

  19. Rebecca Says:

    this is really simple b/c i am not much of a cook, but i lovvvvvve it. i take zucchini and yellow squash–er, i mean, pumpkin–and sautee it until it’s lightly browned (i like my squash more soft than crunchy, so i usually leave it in the pan for a little extra time). then, throw in chopped tomatoes and put a lid on it until the tomatoes are reasonably well cooked. i like to salt it lightly. and it is sooooo delicious. :D

    November 12th, 2007 at 2:45 PM

  20. Lizzy-wa Says:

    pumpkin waffles rock!

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! :P

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:08 AM

  21. lspark Says:

    Squash risotto, yes. one of my all-time favorite dishes, to cook AND eat. Butternut, sugar pumpkin, delicata, buttercup, acorn–all good.

    In case you’re interested, here’s what I like to do: Cube the squash and add two-thirds of it at the beginning, with the rice (and onion or shallot and butter or oil or both). Do the risotto thang–stir, add stock, stir, etc etc. A splash of white wine at some point in the proceedings is very nice (especially if you are using plain water instead of stock).

    Halfway through, add the rest of the squash.

    The first batch of squash will mostly disintegrate in the cooking. So what you end up with in your shallow soup bowl is a creamy golden pond with slightly more substantial (but still tender) pieces of squash lolling throughout, for a gentle textural change of pace.

    Works with other veg too. Artichoke is very nice. happy eating.

    November 13th, 2007 at 6:49 PM

  22. kim Says:

    my nickname is pumpkin

    November 15th, 2007 at 7:39 PM

  23. claire Says:

    your basic root veggie soup can be converted for squash (i recommend acorn):

    boil 2lbs of squash, chunked, in 4 cups chikn stock or water with 1-2 tsp salt. do until squash is soft, then let cool to room temp.

    sauté 1 cup chopped onion with a clove of crushed garlic, 1/3 cup chopped almonds or cashews, and 1 tsp grated fresh ginger in 3 TBSP butter (olive oil can also work.) do until onions are clear.

    put all together in a blender and puree.

    you can serve as is or mix in cream or milk (1 cup).

    November 18th, 2007 at 5:02 AM

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