Halloween

Halloween just grows each and very year! There are no rules except to have fun & let loose of any inhibitions, eat, drink and be scary. Unless of course its USA and you can dress up as a fairy if you so wish. For me, Halloween is a pumpkin frenzy, and whether your growing it, carving it, cooking it if your me, its all in the name of family entertainment. If you have read my post you will see that Pumpkin has been in our lives since 500BC and so after all these years the list of recipes is endless. I have decided to put a few on here and will add more each year with a twist here and there, in the hope you may be inspired.

Pumpkin Soup

I1 x white onion

2 x smashed garlic cloves

1 tsp curry powder & 1 red chilli

1 kilo pumpkin cubes, deseeded and peeled

1/2 cup of sherry

1 litre vegetable stock

Method -

sautee the onion for a good 3 minutes then add the garlic. Add the curry powder and chilli, followed by the pumpkin and fry it just a little until you can smell the spices. Add the sherry first to a semi hot pan let it sizzle and then follow with the stock. Cook until tender, blend ! I like a thicker soup but if prefer a lighter broth then simply add more stock.

The Twist -

For something extra add some fresh ginger or confit ginger with the syrup just as you blend & serve with some creme freche. For a Halloween serving, add some litchi eyeballs. (take a tin of litchi and stuff it with a small pieve of dark chocolate)

Pumpkin Mash

Pumpkin mash is so simple and a crowd pleaser. Its as simple as it sounds so I m jut going to write....peel and boil and smash. Season and serve.

The Twist -

Once smashed melt some salted butter & ripped sage with a smidgeon of freshly ground back pepper.

Stir fried orange pumpkin

This is an Indian inspired recipe that I love. Its side dish for many but for me its dinner!

500g peeled , seeded, & diced pumpkin

peanut oil for frying

100g of red lentil

1 finely chopped white onion

1 x finely sliced red chilli

1 tsp mustard seeds (black)

1 tsp dark brown sugar

1 tsp ground cumin

1 x roasted orange split in half and baked until the skin has touched brown. Chill & squeeze the juice.

Method-

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and add the onion until opaque. Add the red chilli, cumin, sugar & mustard seeds, then red lentils and stir until coated in the spice mix. Add the pumpkin pieces and cover with just enough water or chicken stock. Cook until the pumpkin is just soft on the outside. Drain any extra water from the pan, add the orange juice & season with rock salt.

This makes an amazing filling for ravioli too and serve with that sage butter.

Pumpkin Paratha Breads

II love Parathas and you will find plain and onion ones readily available in many supermarket freezers and of course Asian shops. Parathas are so easy to make and allow you to twist the basic recipe into numerous options.

1 x cup of pureed pumpkin. I recommend fresh but tinned will work, but remember to remove some of the liquid first as a dryer mix works better.

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder or 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

pinch of rock salt

1 tsp garam marsala

1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

water

Method-

Place all the dry ingredients and the pumpkin in a bowl and mix carefully together to form a dough. Add a little water if needed but that will depend on your pumpkin mix. Leave to stand for ten minutes then form into small balls the size of a ping pong ball works well. Flour a surface suitable for rolling the balls into a flat thin pancake. It is at this point if you want to freeze them, I recommend layering the pancakes between parchment paper. Heat a grill pan or small frying pan with a little oil or gee butter and place the pancake in the pan. The dough should start to rise and char a little as the bubbles form in the dough. Flip, repeat the above and then serve warm with a Cucumber raita or some Halloween salsa.

Pumpkin Truffles

are watching you!

Everyone loves a truffle! These are a great option to take to your halloween party and made from the leftover (who are we kidding) pumpkin cake. Below is a simple cake recipe to make the base of these balls of deliciousness but to be honest with ourselves you may have to make double the mix!

1 x cup of pumpkin (tin is fine but once again fresh smashed is always the winner)

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp of all spice

2 eggs

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup of vegetable/corn oil

2 x cups flour

Throw it all in a bowl and mix together to form a batter. Line a 9 inch cake tin and pour in the mix. Bake for 45 mins of 180.c Check to make sure its cooked through, all ovens are different. Set aside to cool. Once cooled break the cake into a magimix and pulse into crumbs.

In a separate bowl - mix

1/2 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups of icing sugar

scrape one vanilla bean pod or 1 tsp vanilla powder

1 x packet cream cheese 250g

Now, add this to your cake crumbs and mix carefully into a paste. Roll into balls & Place in the fridge to chill. Once chilled you can then poke each with a stick and roll in white chocolate. Set to chill again and turn into veined eyeballs with some red edible paint.

Pumpkin Chilli

Who does not love a chilli. This is a fab recipe for those budding vegetarians. Its meaty (sorry) but it really is, tastes amazing and, well its Pumpkin. If your selling your home and have people coming to visit, then this is so much better than coffee. I like to use peanut oil for this but a light olive oil is also fine.

1 x pumpkin peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces (about 3 cups)

1 x red bell pepper

1 x yellow bell pepper

2 x red onions

1 x bunch coriander

1 x tin of black eyed beans

2 tsp cinnamon

2 x tsp cumin powder & inch of cumin seeds

1 x finely sliced red chilli (remember its easier if its frozen)

1 x tsp chilli powder

1 x veggie stock cube

salt to taste

2 x tins tomato concasse

Oil

Method - Place the cubed pumpkin in a bowl and shake with nut oil. Place on a oven tray lined with grease proof paper as the pumpkin becomes sticky, and bake on 180 c or until the pumpkin starts to brown on the edges. Whilst that is doing its thing, slice the red onion into quarters then again, chop off the top of the peppers and then break the remainder into pieces with your hands. There is no room for uniform veggies in this pot! Saute all of these with the dry spices, and add the chopped stems of the coriander. When the spices start to smell, add the tins of tomatoes, stock cube and simmer for about 20 mins or until the sauce cooks down. Remove the pumpkin from the oven, add to the veggie pot and add the black eyed beans. Serve with rice. Roasting off those pumpkin seeds with brown sugar & five spice, seasoning with salt, add a tasty garnish with additional crunch.

Pumpkin Spiced Ice Cream

(check out the recipes sweet page)