Autumn season pleases with a variety of delicious vegetables and fruits. And when the weather outside the window stops pampering with warmth and sunshine, it's time to transfer bright natural colors to your plate. Today we decided to focus our attention on such a familiar and popular vegetable as pumpkin.
Pumpkin is one of the most revered and popular vegetables of Ukrainians in the autumn-winter period. The respectful attitude towards the vegetable in Ukrainian cuisine has been known since ancient times. It is glorified in folk art, widely used in folk medicine and dietary nutrition. And this is not surprising at all, because this bright and tasty product is not only healthy but also very tasty, dishes prepared from it are rich in antioxidants, retain a large number of vitamins and trace elements even during heat treatment, and they are also easily digestible, therefore they are well suited for children. Pumpkin is great for cooking both hot and cold dishes. This vegetable is so versatile that it is equally often used for preparing desserts and main dishes.
So today we offer a small list of the most interesting and delicious pumpkin dishes. For convenience, we have divided the recipes into several categories: first courses, main courses, and sweet dishes.
First courses with pumpkin
Pumpkin soup with mushrooms
Ingredients : 5 cups of water, 200 grams each of pumpkin and mushroom pulp, 2-3 potatoes, 1 medium-sized tomato, 1 onion, 1/2 parsley root, 20 ml of vegetable oil, chopped herbs, salt, pepper and spices to taste.
Preparation: Peel the potatoes and pumpkin, cut into cubes and boil in hot water for 10 minutes. Peel and chop the onion, parsley root and mushrooms. Sauté the vegetables with mushrooms in vegetable oil. Add the fried vegetables to the potatoes and pumpkin, add the chopped tomato, season everything with salt and spices and cook until the vegetables are fully cooked.
When serving, add chopped herbs to each plate.
Pumpkin cream soup
A delicious dish that is perfect for those who are fasting or do not eat meat.
Ingredients: 650-700 grams of pumpkin pulp, 700 ml of water or vegetable broth, 3 potatoes, 1 onion, 15-20 ml of vegetable oil and a sprig of fresh rosemary, salt to taste.
Preparation : Wash, peel and cut the vegetables into small pieces. Place the prepared vegetables in a saucepan, add a sprig of rosemary, vegetable oil and some of the broth and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are cooked.
When the vegetables are ready, remove the pan from the heat and remove the rosemary. Then, using a blender, grind the vegetables until creamy. Then, add the broth to the vegetable puree in small portions, stirring everything with a whisk until smooth, adding the broth until the consistency resembles thin sour cream. Then season the dish with salt and bring the soup to a boil again.
When serving, each serving can be garnished with sour cream or toasted pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin appetizers and main dishes
Pumpkin, arugula and feta cheese salad
A light, slightly spicy, and at the same time savory salad that will make you fall in love with it from the first spoon, allowing you to fully enjoy the taste of the generous gifts of autumn.
Ingredients : 300 grams of pumpkin pulp, 200 grams of feta cheese, 1 bunch of arugula, 70 grams of peeled pumpkin seeds, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 clove of garlic, Provencal herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation : peel the pumpkin, cut into small cubes, add salt, pepper and season with Provencal herbs. Leave to marinate for 15-20 minutes. Bake the marinated pumpkin in the oven until cooked. While the pumpkin flesh is baking, dry the seeds in a dry frying pan without adding fat. Sort the arugula, wash it, dry it on a paper towel and tear it into small pieces. Cut the cheese into small cubes.
For the dressing, mix lemon juice, olive oil, and minced garlic (it is best to mince the garlic with a special press or grate it on a fine grater).
Before serving, place all the ingredients on a plate, lightly salt and pepper, pour over the dressing, and garnish with pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin stuffed with vegetables and meat
Ingredients: a round pumpkin weighing about 2 kilograms, 600-650 grams of chicken breast fillet, 150 grams of tomatoes (we recommend using cherry tomatoes), 150 grams of onion (you can use regular onions or more tender leeks), 150 grams of carrots, 30-40 ml of vegetable oil, salt and your favorite spices to taste.
Preparation : First of all, prepare the pumpkin by washing it well under running water, drying it slightly with a towel and cutting off the top, making an improvised lid from it. Carefully remove the seeds from the pumpkin. Then, using a spoon or knife, remove part of the pulp of the vegetable. Set the pumpkin prepared in this way aside for now and prepare the filling for stuffing.
For the filling, peel the onion and carrot and cut them into small cubes, also chop the pumpkin pulp into small strips. Wash and chop the tomatoes. Peel the chicken fillet from the skin (if any) and membranes and also cut into small pieces. Fry the onion in a heated frying pan with vegetable oil until transparent. Then add the carrots to the fried onion, mix and continue cooking until the carrots are soft. The next step is to add the meat to the vegetables, season everything with salt and spices, mix and continue to stew everything together for another 5-7 minutes. Then add the chopped pumpkin pulp and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the already prepared filling and mix everything well again.
Take the prepared pumpkin and fill it with the vegetable and meat filling, cover the pumpkin with a "lid". Wrap the stuffed pumpkin in foil, place on a baking sheet or in a heat-resistant baking dish and bake in the oven for 90-95 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.
Remove the finished dish from the foil and serve hot.
Note that the filling for pumpkin can be anything, experimenting with your favorite products can make a delicious, healthy, and original dish every time.
Pumpkin risotto
An original, bright, satisfying, and incredibly tasty dish that will appeal to almost everyone.
To prepare one serving you will need: 200 grams of pumpkin pulp, 1.5 tablespoons of risotto rice, 1 onion, 1.2 liters of hot meat or mushroom broth, 50 grams of sweet cream butter, 50 ml of dry white wine, 50 grams of hard cheese, salt to taste and vegetable oil. For serving, prepare either 2 small round pumpkins or 1 small "guitar" pumpkin.
Preparation : Rinse the rice well, pour clean cold water and leave for 1.5 - 2 hours. Peel and cut the pumpkin flesh into small cubes, peel and finely chop the onion. Fry the pumpkin in a heated frying pan with vegetable oil for 1-2 minutes, then add the chopped onion and continue frying. The next step is to add the rice to the fried vegetables, mix everything thoroughly and continue cooking over low heat until the rice absorbs all the oil. Then add white wine to the container with rice and vegetables and cook until it completely evaporates. After the liquid has evaporated, add about 150 ml of broth and cook again until the liquid has completely evaporated. In this way, gradually use up all the broth. After the last portion of broth is poured into the rice with vegetables, add grated cheese, salt, and butter, simmer for 1-2 minutes over low heat, cover, and let steep for 10-15 minutes.
While the risotto is cooking, prepare the pumpkin for serving. To do this, cut the tops of the round pumpkins "lids", remove the pulp and seeds, and line the resulting container with a layer of food foil. If you are using a "guitar" pumpkin, cut it in half lengthwise and do the same manipulation with the seeds as in the previous case. Place the finished risotto in the prepared "pumpkin plates" and serve.
Pumpkin cutlets
Ingredients : 400 grams of chicken fillet, 200 grams of pumpkin pulp, 1 onion, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of semolina, 1 tablespoon of butter, 20 ml of vegetable oil, 2 cloves of garlic, salt, ground pepper and coriander to taste.
Preparation: Peel the pumpkin and grate it on a coarse grater. Peel the meat and pass it through a meat grinder along with the onion and garlic. Add the egg, softened butter, semolina, chopped pumpkin, salt and spices to the minced meat. Mix everything thoroughly and leave for 20-25 minutes. Form small cutlets and fry them on both sides until golden brown. The dish is ready and can be served separately or with any side dish.
Pumpkin roast with meat
An incredibly tasty, nutritious, and healthy dish with a fairly low calorie content of only 60 kcal per 100 grams, so consuming such a roast will not harm any figure.
Ingredients : 600 grams of lean beef, 500-600 grams of pumpkin pulp, 2 pieces of sweet pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, fresh herbs and salt to taste.
Preparation : peel the pumpkin, core and seeds from the bell pepper, remove the membranes from the meat. Cut the vegetables and meat into small cubes, chop the garlic and herbs as well. Place ½ of the vegetables in a heat-resistant dish, lightly salt and level, then make a layer of meat, salt it as well and sprinkle with garlic and chopped herbs, put the last layer of the remaining vegetables. Cover the baking dish with a layer of foil and cook in the oven for 60-65 minutes, at a temperature of 180-200 degrees.
Pumpkin stewed in milk
Ingredients : 1 kilogram of pumpkin, 175 ml of milk, 1.5-2 tablespoons of butter, 2-3 teaspoons of sugar, 20 grams of wheat flour and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley.
Preparation : Peel and cut the pumpkin into small cubes and simmer in boiling milk under a closed lid until half cooked. Separately mix the dried wheat flour, butter, sugar, salt and chopped herbs, add to the pumpkin and continue to simmer the dish until fully cooked.
Pumpkin in sour cream
Ingredients: 1 kilogram of pumpkin pulp, 20 grams of butter, 75 grams of sour cream, 50 grams of sugar, 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs, 30-50 grams of hard cheese, 1 tablespoon of wheat flour.
Cooking method: peel the pumpkin and cut into small pieces, 1 centimeter thick. Salt the chopped pumpkin flesh and lightly bread it in flour and fry in well-heated butter until the vegetable is fully cooked. Transfer the fried pumpkin to a saucepan or deep baking dish (the container in which we will continue cooking must first be greased with butter and sprinkled with breadcrumbs), pour sour cream, sprinkle with grated hard cheese, sprinkle lightly with melted butter and bake in the oven until golden brown.
Savory pumpkin pie with cheese
Ingredients: 2 sheets of ready-made yeast-free puff pastry, 300 grams of peeled pumpkin pulp, 150-200 grams of hard cheese or suluguni, 1 onion, one egg yolk, a pinch of salt and a little olive oil.
Preparation : Cut the peeled pumpkin into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil and fry on all sides in a grill pan until almost cooked. Separately, sauté the finely chopped onion in olive oil. Line a pie pan with baking paper. Roll out 1 sheet of dough and place in a baking pan, forming small sides. Place the onion and the prepared pumpkin on the dough layer, lightly salt everything and sprinkle with grated cheese. Roll out the second sheet of dough and cover the filling, pressing the edges of both dough layers tightly. Add a little salt to the yolk and beat until light foam. Grease the pie with it. Make shallow diagonal cuts on the surface of the pie with a knife. Bake the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, at a temperature of 180 degrees.
Sweet pumpkin dishes
Pumpkin porridge with millet
A dish with such a pleasant and familiar taste will easily immerse you in the cozy atmosphere of childhood.
To make traditional pumpkin porridge, you will need: 1 kg of pumpkin pulp, 300-350 ml of milk, ¾ cup of millet groats, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of butter.
Cooking method: Boil the peeled and cut pumpkin pulp into small pieces until fully cooked in milk. Then grind the pumpkin together with the milk through a sieve or using a blender. Add the previously sorted and washed millet to the pumpkin-milk mass and cook over low heat until the cereal is cooked. When serving, put a small piece of butter on the porridge.
Pumpkin porridge with rice
Ingredients: 300 grams of pumpkin pulp, 125 ml of milk, ½ cup of rice, 30 grams of butter, 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and salt to taste. If desired, you can add a little vanilla or cinnamon to the porridge.
Preparation: pour the peeled and chopped pumpkin into a "small cube" with milk and cook until soft for 25-30 minutes. Separately, rinse and boil the rice in water with the addition of salt and sugar. It is better to cook the rice over low heat, stirring it occasionally. Add the prepared pumpkin with milk to the finished rice, mix everything thoroughly, season with butter and spices and simmer over low heat for a few more minutes. Serve the dish hot.
Pumpkin and apple pancakes
Ingredients: 400 grams of pumpkin pulp, 1-2 apples, ½ cup of kefir, 150 grams of flour, 2 chicken eggs, 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, 20-30 ml of vegetable oil, a pinch of ground cinnamon, salt to taste.
Preparation: peel the pumpkin and apple, remove the skin, seeds and core. Grate the peeled pumpkin and apples on a coarse grater and mix. Separately prepare the dough for pancakes; for this, mix kefir, flour, eggs, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add the pumpkin and apples to the dough, mix everything thoroughly again. Carefully place the pancakes on a well-heated frying pan greased with vegetable oil and fry under a lid over low heat for 2-2.5 minutes on each side. Transfer the finished pancakes to a paper towel to absorb excess fat.
Serve pumpkin pancakes hot with fruit jam or sour cream.
Stewed pumpkin with apples
A delicious and healthy dish that will please both adults and children.
Ingredients: 1 kilogram of pumpkin pulp, 500-600 grams of apples, 150 grams of walnuts, 120 ml of water, 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, 20-30 grams of butter, 1/5 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Preparation: peel and cut the flesh of the pumpkin and apple. Transfer the pumpkin and apple pieces to a saucepan, season with salt, sugar and butter, add water and simmer over low heat until fully cooked. When serving, sprinkle the finished dish with chopped nuts and cinnamon.
Pumpkin baked with honey and nuts
Ingredients: ½ kilogram of pumpkin, 100-150 grams of walnuts, thick honey.
Preparation: Peel the pumpkin and cut it into 1-centimeter-thick pieces (it is most convenient to use the narrow part of the guitar pumpkin for this dish). Line a baking dish or baking sheet with parchment and place the pumpkin pieces on it. Drizzle each piece of pumpkin with honey, the amount of honey depends on your preferences; the sweeter the dish you want, the more honey you use.
Bake the pumpkin in a well-heated oven for 25-35 minutes, at a temperature of about 180-190 degrees. While the pumpkin is cooking, the nuts should be slightly dried in a pan and ground with a blender.
Sprinkle the finished pumpkin with nuts and serve, but the dish becomes especially delicious when it cools.
Pumpkin cheesecake
Bright, tender, and simply melting in your mouth cheesecake will be a real decoration for both a formal dinner and friendly gatherings over a cup of tea.
Ingredients: for the cake – 300 grams of shortbread cookies, 150 grams of butter, 100 grams of sugar, 40 grams of walnuts; for the filling – 400 grams of baked pumpkin pulp, 300 grams of cottage cheese, 100-120 grams of sugar, 50 ml of 20% cream, 2 eggs, 1.5 grams each of nutmeg and cinnamon, 3 grams of vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt.
Preparation: In the bowl of a food processor, crush the cookies and walnuts, add the butter and sugar and mix until smooth. Form the bottom and sides for the cheesecake in a springform pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for an hour and a half.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: puree the roasted pumpkin pulp in a blender until smooth. Add the cheese, eggs, spices, salt, and cream to the pumpkin puree. Mix everything thoroughly until smooth.
Take the shortcrust pastry pan out of the fridge and fill it with the filling. Smooth the top of the cheesecake and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes at a temperature of 165-170 degrees. When the cheesecake is ready, turn off the oven and open the door, leaving the cheesecake in the oven until completely cooled. Before serving, the dish must be kept in the fridge for several hours.
Pumpkin pie
Ingredients: 300 grams of peeled pumpkin pulp, 170-200 grams of sugar, 100 grams of margarine or butter, 3 eggs, 120-130 grams of flour, ½ lemon, 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
Preparation: Grind fresh pumpkin pulp with a blender or grate. Grind the peel of half a lemon in a blender and add lemon juice to it. Thoroughly grind soft margarine or butter with sugar, add eggs one at a time and mix everything well until smooth. Add pumpkin pulp and lemon zest to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix everything well again. Add flour and baking powder to the dough. Mix everything well and put in a baking dish. Cook the pie in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes. When serving, the pie can be sprinkled with crushed pumpkin seeds, nuts or powdered sugar.
Pumpkin and almond cookies
Incredible cookies that will appeal to both restless children and true connoisseurs of culinary art. Soft, fragrant cookies with a spicy aroma of cinnamon and almonds will decorate any holiday or just a tea party.
Ingredients: 300 grams of baked or stewed pumpkin pulp, 260-300 grams of flour, 100 grams of butter or margarine, 2/3 cup of sugar, ½ cup of almonds, 1 teaspoon each of baking powder and cinnamon, a pinch of salt.
Preparation: Grind the prepared pumpkin pulp with a blender until puree. Add melted butter or margarine, sugar and a pinch of salt to the pumpkin puree. Mix everything well. Add sifted flour, baking powder, cinnamon and chopped almond kernels to the dough. Mix everything thoroughly and add a little more flour if necessary. The dough should be soft and sticky in consistency, as if slightly unmixed.
Next, wet your hands in water and form small balls. Place the formed cookies on a baking sheet previously lined with parchment paper or foil and bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Transfer the finished cookies to a plate and let cool. Serve the treat with tea, coffee, or milk.
This is just a small list of recipes for what you can cook from pumpkin. Housewives often use it to make pie fillings, cook delicious jam, add it to stews, snacks, and cook meat with it. So let's go to the kitchen to cook delicious and healthy pumpkin dishes.
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