Thanksgiving leftovers? Never fear, the kitchen witch is here! I wasn’t able to enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving feast this year, but I am still here with ways for you to use up some of the leftover food you may have, and stir up some witchin’ in the kitchen to boot.
The following soup is just the thing to lift you out of the post-Thanksgiving slump. In fact, it’s good for helping lift you out of the winter doldrums, so it’s a good one to hang on to until spring. Plus, being a spicy soup, it’s good not only for warming and protection, but you can also serve it at Imbolc.
Curried Pumpkin Soup
First, let’s talk about that pumpkin. As we have discussed before, this is an excellent symbol of the harvest. Its round shape represents fertility and abundance. The seeds are also symbols of fertility and can be toasted and eaten, or dried and marked with runes for divination. If you like to do things the slower way, maybe you’ve purchased a pumpkin and roasted it yourself. If so, good for you. Roasting the pumpkin intensifies the flavor and brings out a lovely sweetness. If you’re short on time, however, canned or raw pumpkin will work just as well. This recipe is partially about the spice.
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
1 hot red chili, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ½ cups pumpkin (used canned or roasted, whichever you have)
3 cups water
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
1 14-oz can coconut milk
3 tablespoons butter or oil
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large soup pot, melt butter and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, chili, and spices. Stir to coat everything with the spice mixture and cook 2 more minutes.
Add the pumpkin, water and broth and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes. Add the coconut milk and continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in your blender or use a stick immersion blender to blend until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot. Soup can be thinned with a little extra water or stock if it’s too thick for your liking.
Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro leaves if desired.
Not in the mood for soup? You can also turn this into a satisfying, chunky curry to serve over rice. Use cubes of roasted pumpkin instead of canned, and omit the water and stock, keeping the coconut milk.
Showing posts with label pumpkin recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumpkin recipes. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Pumpkin Recipes
I would like to share with you one of my favorite pumpkin recipes. It's also one of the easiest things to make. It takes a little time for the pumpkin to set, but during that time you don't have to do anything. It's a Turkish dessert called "Kabak Tatlısı", or "Pumpkin Dessert".
For this dessert you need:
1 Pumpkin, removed from the shell and cut into cubes
Sugar
Couple of whole cloves if you want them
To serve:
Clotted or whipped cream
Ground walnuts or pistachios
The ratio of pumpkin to sugar is 2:1. If you have 3 cups of pumpkin, use 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Place the pumpkin into a pot and sprinkle with sugar. Let it sit overnight. It will release water so you don't have to add any when cooking. The next day, add your cloves to the mixture (you can add a cinnamon stick too if you want), and cook everything until the pumpkin is soft, about 30-45 minutes. Let it cool and garnish it with the nuts and serve with cream. It's usually served with kaymak, which is Turkish clotted cream. It's simple and delicious. They also make a quince version here as well.
Pumpkin Seeds
I love pumpkin seeds. Some people crack the outer shell and eat the inner kernel like with sunflower seeds, but I eat the whole thing. I do the same with sunflower seeds! It won't hurt you and you might even get a little extra fiber.
Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious. They're chock-full of magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc, which we all need for healthy bodies. If you're going to be cutting into a pumpkin or two this season, you might as well save and eat the seeds. You'll be creating less waste and doing something good for yourself in the process.
The easiest way to prepare them is to wash off as much of the gunk as you can, dry the seeds off on some kitchen paper or a tea towel, and pop everything into the oven. The little strings and leftover bits of pumpkin "guts" will come off very easily once the whole shebang is toasted.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the seeds out in an even layer on a cookie sheet or baking sheet and roast until the seeds are dried out. Watch them, though, and make sure they don't get brown. They'll taste like burnt popcorn and won't be any good. Unless you like burnt popcorn, that is.
Once they're toasted and you've separated out the non-seedy bits, pop them into a bowl and drizzle with a bit of oil and salt. After that, get creative!
Sweet and spicy: Olive oil, salt, brown sugar, cayenne and/or chipotle chili powder (love and protection, no?)
To draw money: Olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch each of ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
For non-magical purposes:
Olive oil, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese
Olive oil, salt, a dash of garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and coriander
Olive oil, salt, garam masala, cumin, cayenne (optional)
Pumpkin Soup
6 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces (optional if making a vegetarian soup)
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds pumpkin, roasted at about 400 F until tender (or you can use canned in a pinch)
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup half and half (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cook the bacon, if using, in a soup pot until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the onions in the drippings (or in olive oil/butter) until soft. Add the garlic and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the roasted pumpkin, liquid (except dairy), seasonings and spices. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Blend with a stick blender or place in a blender in batches. Return to the pot and add half and half, if using.
Garnish with bacon and toasted pumpkin seeds.
For this dessert you need:
1 Pumpkin, removed from the shell and cut into cubes
Sugar
Couple of whole cloves if you want them
To serve:
Clotted or whipped cream
Ground walnuts or pistachios
The ratio of pumpkin to sugar is 2:1. If you have 3 cups of pumpkin, use 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Place the pumpkin into a pot and sprinkle with sugar. Let it sit overnight. It will release water so you don't have to add any when cooking. The next day, add your cloves to the mixture (you can add a cinnamon stick too if you want), and cook everything until the pumpkin is soft, about 30-45 minutes. Let it cool and garnish it with the nuts and serve with cream. It's usually served with kaymak, which is Turkish clotted cream. It's simple and delicious. They also make a quince version here as well.
Pumpkin Seeds
I love pumpkin seeds. Some people crack the outer shell and eat the inner kernel like with sunflower seeds, but I eat the whole thing. I do the same with sunflower seeds! It won't hurt you and you might even get a little extra fiber.
Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious. They're chock-full of magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc, which we all need for healthy bodies. If you're going to be cutting into a pumpkin or two this season, you might as well save and eat the seeds. You'll be creating less waste and doing something good for yourself in the process.
The easiest way to prepare them is to wash off as much of the gunk as you can, dry the seeds off on some kitchen paper or a tea towel, and pop everything into the oven. The little strings and leftover bits of pumpkin "guts" will come off very easily once the whole shebang is toasted.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the seeds out in an even layer on a cookie sheet or baking sheet and roast until the seeds are dried out. Watch them, though, and make sure they don't get brown. They'll taste like burnt popcorn and won't be any good. Unless you like burnt popcorn, that is.
Once they're toasted and you've separated out the non-seedy bits, pop them into a bowl and drizzle with a bit of oil and salt. After that, get creative!
Sweet and spicy: Olive oil, salt, brown sugar, cayenne and/or chipotle chili powder (love and protection, no?)
To draw money: Olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch each of ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
For non-magical purposes:
Olive oil, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese
Olive oil, salt, a dash of garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and coriander
Olive oil, salt, garam masala, cumin, cayenne (optional)
Pumpkin Soup
6 ounces bacon, cut into small pieces (optional if making a vegetarian soup)
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds pumpkin, roasted at about 400 F until tender (or you can use canned in a pinch)
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup half and half (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cook the bacon, if using, in a soup pot until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the onions in the drippings (or in olive oil/butter) until soft. Add the garlic and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the roasted pumpkin, liquid (except dairy), seasonings and spices. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Blend with a stick blender or place in a blender in batches. Return to the pot and add half and half, if using.
Garnish with bacon and toasted pumpkin seeds.
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