Sugar or Pie pumpkins
When I see these at the grocery store, usually starting in late September, I get extremely excited and always buy at least two.
Now, I'm not a pumpkin purée snob. Having done a blind taste test, I actually can't tell the difference between home puréed and canned pumpkin purée. I think the canned stuff is great, and I use it most of the year. But at least once a year, I like to make my own purée, because it's easy, it's fun, it makes the house smell amazing, and it gets me in the mood for Autumn. (Who am I kidding? I'm always in the mood for Autumn. It's my favorite season.)
Pumpkin entrails!
But there really is something deeply satisfying about cutting open a pumpkin, sticking your hands inside it, and making a great mess. I know you already get to do that at Halloween, but why not do it twice, if you have the chance?
It's also pretty satisfying to bake a pumpkin pie entirely from scratch, using your own home puréed pumpkin filling.
I remember, I was in my 20's, and I was at a party at a friend's house some time around Thanksgiving. We were standing together in her kitchen when she asked if I wanted a piece of pie, saying that she had made it entirely herself using a real sugar pumpkin.
After she patiently explained to me what a sugar pumpkin was, I think I just stared at her for a minute before exclaiming: Are you kidding me? It had never even occurred to me that such a thing was possible, and to me she suddenly seemed like a brand new, magical creature, a sort of kitchen goddess.
As I was still reeling from the sugar pumpkin thing, she pulled out a hand mixer and started whipping something that looked like milk inside a wide bowl. I peered into it, wondering what she was thinking. Then, when the milk suddenly turned into whipped cream, I think I must have nearly dropped to the floor. It was such a revelation to me. It seems amazing thinking back on it now, but I had never seen things like that done, homemade pie, homemade whipped cream, this was a brand new world to me.
I laugh now, thinking how disconnected I was to the origins of real food. To me, at that time, whipped cream meant Cool Whip, which is actually a whole different animal suspiciously subtitled as whipped topping. Surely that's industry speak for whipped chemicals. But I digress.
Homemade pumpkin purée
Anyway, it's a fun tradition to welcome Autumn by making homemade pumpkin pie with your own purée. Go forth and seek out those little things labeled as sugar or pie pumpkins. Let the kids do the seed scooping and help with the mashing. I promise it'll be a blast.
What you need:
a sugar or pie pumpkin
a sharp knife
an oven
What you do:
Cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and fibers, scraping the inside of the pumpkin with a spoon. Reserve the seeds for cooking later.
You can cut the pumpkin halves into fourths, if you want, after the insides are cleaned out.
Bake, facing either up or down, on a cookie sheet or whatever ovenproof dish you choose, at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes. The pumpkin is cooked through when you can easily pierce the flesh with a knife. Be sure to notice how homey it makes your house smell.
Remove the cooked pumpkin from the oven and let it cool. Then, peel the skin away and mash or process the flesh, using a food processor, a blender, a potato masher, a ricer, a food mill, or even your very clean hands. Purée until smooth.
If the mixture is too thick, add a little water, but not too much. You don't want your purée to be watery. If you overdo it with the water, then let the purée sit for a little while. Some of the excess water will pool on top, and you can just pour it off. Or use cheesecloth to strain it.
Use in any recipe calling for pumpkin purée. Freeze any leftover purée. It will keep for months.
Hmm, now let's think about how to roast those lovely pumpkin seeds . . .
dessert,