Wandering around a local farmers' market the other day I came across a huge pile of pumpkins. Pumpkins and squash originate in the Americas and can be found in a wide variety of Latin American and Caribbean cuisines. For this recipe any winter squash, such as acorn squash or butternut squash, can be substituted.
In the United States, pumpkins are used primarily as jack-o-lanterns and many people find them a bit intimidating to cook with. Hopefully this guide will abate your fears so that you grab a pumpkin to make this recipe the next time you have the chance.
Preparing a Pumpkin for Cooking
- Place the pumpkin on some spread out newspaper to reduce the cleanup time afterwards.
- You can either cut the pumpkin in sections with the tip of a chefs knife or you can just smash it open on a hard surface (one method is more fun, the other is less messy).
- Scoop out the seeds and fibers inside the pumpkin. The innards can be discarded, but this is a real treasure trove if you save the seeds for roasting.
- Cut the slices into large chunks.
- Roast pumpkin chunks at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Scoop the roasted pumpkin away from the skin.
Alternatively you can cut away the peel without roasting the pumpkin and boil the chucks in water until fork tender.
This cooked pumpkin can be saved in the freezer for a couple of months so you can enjoy pumpkin even when it is out of season.
Jamaican Pumpkin Soup
(Serves 8)
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked, mashed pumpkin (canned pumpkin if you do not want to prepare the pumpkin yourself)
- 2 cups of chicken stock (vegetable stock or even water would work if you want to keep the recipe vegetarian)
- 1 cup of coconut milk (substitute 1/2 cup evaporated milk or even regular milk)
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
- Combine all the ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. If you are using raw pumpkin simmer until pumpkin is tender (about 30 minutes).
- Remove bay leaf. Blend the ingredients until smooth. Use an upright blender or an immersion blender.
- Return to pot and heat through.
Garnish with chopped chives, cilantro leaves, roasted pumpkin seeds, or a dollop of sour cream.
This simple soup is a great way to use pumpkins in a different way, but now what to do with all those seeds...
