Pumpkins Not Just For Carving

Pumpkins are often associated with Halloween and pumpkin pie.

But in the Five-Minute Cooking School with Williams-Sonoma, cookbook author Tori Ritchie teaches that pumpkins are great for a variety of recipes that are easy to prepare.

There is a large variety of pumpkins, varying in size (anywhere from 2 pounds to even 100 pounds) and taste. Not all are great for cooking.

The following are Ritchie's recipes:

Roasted Baby Pumpkins

Sweetened with maple syrup, these petite pumpkins make a wonderful accompaniment to the Thanksgiving feast. The pumpkin puree is served directly in the shell for a colorful presentation.

Ingredients:
6 baby pumpkins, each about 1 lb.
1/2 cup maple syrup, heated
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and heat to 375°F.
2. Cut the top off each pumpkin about 1 inch below the stem. Reserve the tops to use as lids during roasting. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds and discard. Place the pumpkins in a heavy roasting pan.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and butter until smooth. Divide the butter mixture among the pumpkin cavities, sprinkle with the thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cover each pumpkin with its lid. Roast until a knife easily pierces the flesh, about 45 minutes.
4. Using a spoon, scrape the flesh away from the skin but keep it within the pumpkin shell, and stir with the maple butter and accumulated juices to form a puree-like consistency. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

This chunky soup is made even more interesting with the addition of diced pears and a classic Catalan picada thickener of garlic, almonds and bread. In Morocco, lentils might be used instead of chickpeas or white beans, and sometimes rice or braised greens are added to the mix.

Ingredients:
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup small dried white beans, such as Great Northern
2 quarts plus 3 cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced ham
1 Tbs. sweet paprika
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
Pinch of saffron, steeped in 1/4 cup hot chicken stock or water
12 almonds
1 slice bread, cut in half
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbs. sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups peeled and coarsely chopped pumpkin or butternut squash
3 pears, peeled, halved, cored and cut into chunks
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Pick over the chickpeas and white beans, and discard any misshapen beans and stones. Rinse the chickpeas and beans and drain. Place in a bowl, add water to cover generously and let soak overnight, then drain.
2. In a saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the chickpeas and beans and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chickpeas and beans are tender, about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan over medium heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ham and paprika, mixing well, and then mix in the tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Add the saffron and stock to the pan, mix well and set aside.
4. In another sauté pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 6 Tbs. olive oil. Add the almonds, bread and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the almonds, bread and garlic to a mortar or a small food processor. Grind with a pestle or process to a paste. Add the vinegar, mixing well. Set aside.
5. After the chickpeas and white beans have cooked for 1 hour, add the pumpkin and pears and simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, stir in the tomato-onion mixture, the green beans and the bread mixture, and simmer until the green beans and pumpkin are tender and the flavors are blended, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, "Soup for Supper" by Joyce Goldstein (Time-Life Books, 1998).

Pumpkin Pie Waffles

These may never replace pumpkin pie at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but they'll give tradition a good race. Like pumpkin pie, they are comforting, custardy and filling. They're made with the same spices used for pumpkin pie along with sour cream for smoothness; the dark rum is there for extra flavor and a little mystery.

Ingredients:
5 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup pumpkin puree (you can use canned puree)
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. double-acting baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 Tbs. dark rum
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream and/or maple syrup for serving

Method:

1. Heat a waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, heat an oven to 200°F.
2. Melt the butter; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, brown and granulated sugars, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Mix well with a rubber spatula or handheld electric mixer. Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. The mixture will be thick and a little lumpy. Don't try to smooth it out; just mix until the ingredients are incorporated.
4. In another bowl, beat together the milk, sour cream, eggs, rum and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the melted butter.
5. Whether or not your iron's grids are well seasoned or made of a nonstick material, it is best to lightly butter or spray the grids for these waffles because the batter is quite sticky. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.
6. Spoon out 2/3 to 3/4 cup of batter for a Belgian waffle iron (or the amount recommended by the manufacturer's instructions) onto the hot iron. Use a metal spatula or wooden spoon to spread the batter evenly over the grids. Close the lid and bake until golden. If the waffle is hard to remove from the iron, peel it off gently and carefully. Serve imm