Pumpkin recipes: tasty, original ideas for autumn flavors.

Autumn arrives and with it a lot of tasty products that cannot be missed on our tables. Creamy, colorful, and with its sweet and sour taste, the pumpkin is one of the most versatile vegetables that can be used in the kitchen for numerous recipes.

From pasta dishes with pasta or the traditional risotto, which transforms the soft pulp into a tasty cream that envelops the grains with flavor, to oven-baked pumpkin, a simple yet delicious side dish that pairs perfectly with meat or fish main courses, there are many ideas to make the most of this autumn ingredient. The pumpkin is also the star of delicious desserts like pumpkin and chocolate cake, ideal to enjoy as a snack with a nice cup of tea.

Recipes with pumpkin: tasty and quick first courses

Pasta with pumpkin is a very tasty, simple, and quick first course to prepare. It is a highly appreciated dish even by those following a vegan diet, due to its unmistakable flavor and natural creaminess. To achieve an even creamier result, you can mix the blended pulp of the pumpkin with two tablespoons of ricotta or goat cheese for a complete vegetarian dish or smoked tofu.

The healthiest way to use pumpkin is to boil it. Take a pot with three to four fingers of water, bring it to a boil, add salt, and boil the pumpkin. Once cooked, mash it and use it to dress a first course or to prepare a purée. The leftover cooking water can then be used for risottos, soups, and broths.

To prepare a pumpkin sauce, remove the skin, seeds, and internal threads of the pumpkin, then cut the resulting pulp into cubes about 1 cm.

Finely chop some shallots and put them in a pan with three tablespoons of oil and some dried chili. Cook gently for about 5 minutes or until the shallots are wilted but not colored. Now remove the chili and add the pumpkin cubes. Let them sauté for a few minutes and then drizzle with hot vegetable broth.

Season with salt and pepper and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Then take half of the pumpkin pulp and set it aside while you blend the remaining with a tablespoon of olive oil. Put the sauce obtained back in the pan and mix it with the type of pasta you have chosen to prepare; great choices are penne, pennette, fusilli, and farfalle.

Along with the pumpkin, if you wish, you can also add bacon or even sausage in pieces.

Staying with the first courses, especially in the north, pumpkin is also highly appreciated in risottos, perhaps with some black truffle or mushrooms, sausage, gorgonzola, taleggio, amaretti, and even a reduction of balsamic vinegar. A delicacy to try. Prepare your pumpkin-based sauce and combine it with the rice, first toasted and then deglazed with wine. As soon as it starts to dry add the vegetable broth until the cooking is complete, 15/20 minutes depending on the type of rice used, and finally stir in butter and parmigiano reggiano.

Recipes with pumpkin: here come the side dishes and main courses

Pumpkin, in addition to being great for preparing first courses, can also be used to make delicious side dishes. For example, it can be cooked in a pan or boiled, in both cases the result will be fantastic. Pan-fried pumpkin is a quick and easy side dish to prepare. The first thing to do is to prepare the pumpkin: clean it, remove the outer skin with a sharp knife, and cut it into cubes. Peel two garlic cloves and remove their inner sprout, then heat them slightly in a pan with evo oil together with a sprig of rosemary.

When the garlic has turned golden, remove it from the pan and add the pumpkin cubes. Cook on high heat for two minutes, add a glass of dry white wine, and wait for it to evaporate. At this point, cover with a lid, lower the heat to minimum, and cook for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and you will have your sautéed pumpkin. In main courses, pumpkin is an excellent accompaniment, but in some cases, it can also take on the role of the main ingredient. This is the case for pumpkin meatballs or cutlets.

Recipes with pumpkin: here come the desserts

Muffins, cheesecakes, soft or dry cakes, if you decide to use pumpkin to prepare a dessert you will have a wealth of choices. And as if that weren't enough, pumpkin is also a low-calorie product rich in nutrients, useful for its diuretic and calming action. Pumpkin pie is a "homemade" dessert, soft and flavorful, to be served at breakfast or as a snack. The recipe is simple and is made with easily available ingredients.

A tasty autumn dessert to try when this vegetable reaches its full maturity. Here is a quick recipe for a delicious pumpkin cake: the 5-minute cake. Simple to prepare, perfect for those who have very little time to dedicate to dessert making and do not want to give up a homemade dessert or cake.

Ingredients

300 g of pumpkin

3 eggs

160 ml of seed oil

160 g of sugar

180 g of all-purpose flour

70 g of potato starch

120 ml of milk

1 packet of vanilla sugar

1 packet of baking powder

Preparation

To start preparing the 5 Minutes Pumpkin Cake, peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds and internal threads. Cut it into pieces and add it to a large mixer. Process together with the oil and milk for one minute. Add the other ingredients and blend everything for another two minutes in the mixer or blender. This way you will have obtained a well-homogeneous and dense mixture, without lumps. Pour the mixture into a 24 cm cake pan, place it in the oven at 180°C for 40 minutes, and enjoy!

Francesco Scuderi

S&M