recipe and cooking video: Pumpkin

Showing posts with label Pumpkin. Show all posts

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup with Five Spice Shiitakes

A quick, easy and tasty recipe for a thick and soul-warming pumpkin soup fragrantly spiced with curry and served with 5 spice shiitake mushrooms.

5 Spice Shiitakes	Soup
12 Dried shiitakes, soaked and diced 1-2 tbsp Bacon dripping 1 tsp Garlic, minced 1/3 tsp Five spice powder 1-2 tsp Maggi seasoning 1/2 tbsp Medium sweet sherry	3 tbsp Olive oil 1 Onion, finely chopped 2 Garlic cloves, crushed 2 tsp Curry powder 700 g Butternut squash, cut into 1cm pieces 100 g Red lentils, rinsed 1l Vegetable stock Salt and pepper to taste Fresh parsley leaves, to serve

Soak dried mushrooms in warm water until plump, about 30 minutes. Drain well, then dice the softened mushrooms. Heat the bacon dripping in a skillet. Add in minced garlic and diced mushrooms. Sauté briefly, adding in five spice, maggi seasoning and sherry, and continue stirring until mushrooms are tender and coated with the sauce. Keep warm until ready to use.
Heat a large saucepan with olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the butternut squash, red lentils, and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the butternut squash and red lentils are soft.
Remove the soup from the heat and puree with a handheld blender or whirl in batches in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the low-medium heat and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle among serving bowls. Top with the stir-fried mushrooms and parsley to serve.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Baked Stuffed Hokkaido Pumpkin

A beautiful whole baked Hokkaido filled with ground beef, pumpkin seeds, shiitake mushrooms, ricotta, herb and spices. It’s delicious, remarkably easy and can be prepared in advance. The filling should be for enough for either two mini Hokkaido pumpkins or a large one. If you have too much filling left, bake a casserole!　

Inspired by Essen und Trinken

1 Hokkaido pumpkin
20 g Dried shiitake
3 tbsp Corn oil
2 Shallots
2 tbsp Pumpkin seeds, finely chopped
6 Allspice, finely crushed
3 Juniper berries, finely crushed

2 tbsp Thyme leaves
400 g Ground beef
3 tbsp Breadcrumbs
1 Large egg
50 g Ricotta
Salt and pepper

Cut off top of pumpkin to make a lid and spoon out the seeds and pulp. Rub the inside with some salt. Place, cut side down, on a piece of kitchen paper, for 30 minutes.
Soak the dried shiitake in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes until softened. Squeeze out the water and finely chop the shiitake. Finely dice the shallots.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Heat 2 tablespoons of corn oil in a skillet. Add in chopped shallots, shiitake, allspice, juniper berries, pumpkin seeds and thyme. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Place the ground beef,breadcrumbs, egg, ricotta, and shiitake mixture in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until all the ingredients are well blended.
Fill the pumpkin with ground beef mixture and place on a baking tray together with the lid. Brush the pumpkin with 1 tablespoon of corn oil. Bake at the 2nd rack from bottom for an hour. About 10 minutes before the pumpkin has finished baking, cover with aluminum foil.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Savoury Pumpkin Spelt Tartlets with Sage and Lemon Thyme

Not only is pumpkin delectable and loaded with nutrients, but it can also be used to make a variety of sweet and savoury holiday tarts. Mellow, sweet flavour of pumpkin blends so well with cheese and herbs. The cream is used to give extra smoothness and richness to the filling. To enjoy them at their best, serve those tartlets soon after baking.

Inspired by Gordon Ramsay Recipes

Whole Grain Spelt Hazelnut Pastry	Filling
100 g Whole grain spelt flour 100 g Ground hazelnut Pinch of fine sea salt 80 g Unsalted butter 2 Large egg yolks 1–2 tbsp Cold water	200 ml Whipping cream 10 Sage leaves, snipped Few lemon thyme sprigs, plus extra leaves to sprinkle Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 300 g Pumpkin purée 2 Large eggs, lightly beaten 3 tbsp Freshly grated Parmesan

To make the pastry, combine whole grain spelt flour, hazelnut and salt in a bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and 1 tbsp water and pulse until the mixture starts to clump together. If it is too dry, add another 1–2 tsp water, until you can press the dough together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the filling, put the cream into a small saucepan and add the snipped sage, lemon thyme sprigs and a pinch of salt. Bring just to a simmer, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse and cool completely.
Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and use it to line twelve 5cm tarlet tins, trimming off the excess pastry. Place on a baking tray and chill for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line the tartlet cases with greaseproof paper and baking beans or dried beans and ‘bake blind’ for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and lower the setting to 170C/340F.
Strain the herb-infused cream through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the herbs. Stir in the pumpkin purée, beaten eggs and freshly grated Parmesan. Season well to taste. Spoon the filling into the pastry cases, then sprinkle a few lemon thyme leaves on top. Bake for about 20–25 minutes until lightly golden and set. Let the tartlets cool in the tins before unmoulding.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Baked Peanut-Filled Pumpkin Patties

A telltale sign of the arrival of autumn and harvest time is the presence of all sizes and kinds of pumpkins. This humble vegetable (or fruit?) is far more than just a festive symbol. Pumpkins are delicious and very low in calories yet good source of vitamins, fibers and antioxidants.
The golden colour and sweet, mellow taste adapts really well to many flavours and wonderful in all kinds of autumnal dishes. So if you've been searching for a healthy and tasty autumn snack recipe, go ahead and try this quick and delectable pumpkin recipe!

Pumpkin Dough	Peanut Filling
1 Small Hokkaido pumpkin 120 g Whole grain spelt flour 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice blend (or cinnamon) 1-2 tbsp Brown sugar Sesame seeds Poppy seeds 2 tbsp Olive oil	200 g Roasted peanut, chopped 80 g Butter, melted 100 g Powdered sugar

Cut the pumpkin in half. Scrape out the seeds and pulp from the center. Place pumpkin halves on a baking sheet, cut side down, and roast in a 180C/350F for 45 minutes, or until pumpkin is fork-tender. Peel off the skin from the pumpkin. Place them in a blender and process until smooth. You need about 500 grams of pumpkin puree. Store the rest in the freezer for the later use.
Mix the pumpkin puree, whole grain spelt flour, and spice in a bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth. Add more flour if needed. Stir together the chopped peanut, melted butter and powdered sugar in a bowl.
Divide dough into 28 portions and shape each into a ball. Flatten each dough into a round, fill the center with a teaspoon of peanut filling. Gather the edges to enclose the filling. Coat the ball with sesame or poppy seeds. Lightly press it down to flatten the ball.
Grease a baking tray with olive oil. Place the pumpkin patties on the tray and bake at 180C/350F for 20 minutes.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Pumpkin Maple Cookies with Quark Frosting

Those cookies, a great complement to afternoon tea, are not the typical cookies. They are soft, spongy and light textured cake-like pumpkin cookies flavoured with rich maple syrup and warm, fragrant spices, that enhances the delicate earthiness of the pumpkin.
They are delectable without frosting and pepitas garnish, but even better and more fun with them!

Pumpkin Maple Cookies with Quark Frosting

Inspired by Joy of Baking

Cookie	Frosting
260 g All purpose flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Baking soda 1 tsp Ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp Ground ginger 1/4 tsp Ground clove 1/2 tsp Salt 2 Large eggs, room temperature 150 g Light brown sugar 2 tbsp Maple syrup 120 ml Corn oil 1 tsp Vanilla extract 220 g Pumpkin puree	115 g Quark, at room temperature 30 g Unsalted butter, at room temperature 60 g Powdered sugar 3-4 tbsp Pumpkin seeds, roasted

Preheat oven to 165C/325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, clove, and salt.
Beat the eggs, brown sugar and maple syrup until light and smooth. Beat in oil, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Sift in the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated.
Use a small ice cream scoop to measure about 1/4 cup of batter and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches / 5 cm apart.
Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Beat the quark cheese and butter until soft and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar until frosting is soft and creamy and of spreading consistency.
Place small dollops of the frosting on each cookie or put the frosting in a piping bag, fitted with a small plain tip, and pipe swirls of frosting on the top of each cookie. Store frosted cookies in the refrigerator.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Orange Roasted Pumpkin Soup

This bright golden-coloured, creamy pumpkin soup is perfect for a light lunch with some crusty artisan bread rolls. Roasted pumpkin, potato and spices work together creating a rich depth of flavour and creamy texture without addition of heavy cream.

1 kg Hokkaido pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, cut into 1cm pieces
3 tbsp Walnut oil
1 Potato, peeled and diced
1 Onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 clove Garlic, chopped
1 Cayenne chilli pepper, deseeded and diced
1 tbsp Curry powder
1 tsp Coriander powder

1 l Vegetable stock
250 ml Orange juice
100 ml Milk
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
1 tbsp Lime juice
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Chives
Chilli threads

Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Place pumpkin and potato in a roasting pan. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of walnut oil and toss to coat. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender.
Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until soft. Add in garlic, pepper, curry, and coriander powder. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until aromatic.
Add in pumpkin, potato, stock, orange juice and milk. Cook, covered, over medium heat for about 25 minutes. Blend the mixture in a food processor or with a handheld blender until smooth. Season with salt, cayenne pepper and lime juice. Ladle among serving bowls. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds, chopped chives, and chilli threads.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pumpkin Peanut Bars

These pumpkin bars are light in texture, wonderfully moist and delicious. A thick layer of delightfully spiced pumpkin filling in between a buttery crust and chopped pea-nutty topping. Drizzle some caramel over and enjoy them with a pot of freshly brewed tea. A perfect autumn treat!

Peanut Shortbread	Pumpkin Filling
80 g Roasted peanuts, ground 110 All purpose flour Pinch of salt 100 g Unsalted butter, room temperature 80 g Golden caster sugar 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract	2 Eggs 450 g Pumpkin puree 100 g Golden caster sugar 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 1 tsp Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ground ginger 1/4 tsp Salt 250 ml Sour cream 80 ml Milk 50 g Roasted peanuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 175C/350F and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom and sides of a 24x36 cm baking pan with aluminum foil that has been buttered and floured. Blend the ground peanuts, flour and salt together in a bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough forms. Press the dough evenly and firmly onto the bottom of the foil-lined pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the shortbread is set and beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Whisk the eggs, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, spices, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Gradually stir in the sour cream and milk. Pour the filling over the pre baked crust and sprinkle the chopped peanuts all over the top.
Bake in the hot oven for about 35 minutes, or until the filling is set in the center. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Lift the pumpkin bars from the pan by holding onto the edges of the aluminum foil. Cut into squares or bars.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Baked Carnival Squash with Smoked Bacon and Rosemary

Carnival Squash - Cream colored with orange spots or pale green with dark green spots in vertical stripes. Carnival Squash have hard, thick skins and only the flesh is eaten. It is sometimes labeled as a type of acorn squash.

The delicious yellow meat is reminiscent of sweet potatoes and butternut squash and can be baked or steamed then combined with butter and fresh herbs. Also great in soups. Source: What's Cooking America

Recipe Source: Kürbis aus dem Ofen-Essen und Trinken

1 Carnival squash (acorn or hokkaido)
Salt and black pepper to taste
100 g Smoked bacon, diced
50 g Olive oil
1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/5 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Sugar

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cut carnival squash into halves, scoop out seeds and fibers, and cut each half into two chunks. Place them cut-side up on a shallow baking tray. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper.
Dice the bacon and combine with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, nutmeg and sugar in a bowl. Divide the mixture among the carnival chunks. Bake in the middle of the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sourdough Spelt Pumpkin Bread

It is always preferable (and more affordable) to use the seasonal produce, so I promise you that this wouldn't be the final pumpkin recipe. :-)) So please do bear with me with all my repetitious pumpkin recipes.

7 g Instant dried yeast
360 g Roasted butternut pumpkin puree
30 g Milk
30 g Maple syrup
80 g Walnut oil
1tsp Salt
80 g Mature sourdough starter
1 Egg white, well-beaten
Poppy and sesame seeds

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together splet flour and instant dried yeast. Make a well in the center and add in the pumpkin puree, milk, maple syrup, walnut oil and salt.
Mix on the slow speed until all the ingredients blended. Then increase the speed and knead on medium until dough forms. Now lower the speed, and gradually add in the sourdough starter and knead it into the dough, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic in appearance. The sourdough starter here adds extra depth of flavor and moisture, and also speeds the fermentation slightly even in dough using the usual amount of instant yeast.
Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a little walnut oil, return the dough ball, and cover with a plastic wrap. Leave it at room temperature for 1 hour or until it’s doubled in size. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough, knead briefly and cut into two 200 grams pieces and four 160 grams pieces.
Shape two 200 grams of dough each into a round and place them in a loaf pan lined with a baking paper. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and proof for 45 minutes until doubled. To make the braid, form each of four 160 grams of dough into strands of about 25-cm in length, tapered so the center of each piece is thicker than the ends. Pinch the 4 strands together at one tapered end. Cross strand 1 over strand 3, strand 2 over strand 3, and strand 4 over strand 2. Repeat until you get to the end of the strands. Pinch all loose ends together. Now pinch two tapered ends together and place it into a 18-20 cm greased springform pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and proof for 45 minutes until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Once the dough has doubled, brush the tops of two loaves with well-beaten egg white and sprinkle the poppy or sesame seeds atop. Make a cross on the top of rectangular loaf and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 35 minutes until golden brown.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Pumpkin Walnut Praline Cheesecake

What would AUTUMN be without pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread or pumpkin cheesecake? I like to add nuts to the cheese filling, just to have something to chew on while enjoy the creaminess of the cheesecake. If you prefer yours without, then leave the walnut praline out. The cheese I used for the recipe is called "Quark©angiesrecipes", a type of fresh cheese, which is made by warming soured milk until the desired degree of denatured proteins and then strained. Quark usually contains much lower fat than the cream cheeses and has no salt added.

Feel free to replace it with other type of fresh cheese, like fromage frais or cream cheese.

Praline	Crust
100 g Granulated sugar 50 g Chopped walnuts	70 g Butter, diced 3 tbsp Brown sugar 120 g All-purpose flour
Filling	Topping
550 g Quark cheese ©angiesrecipes (or Fromage frais)at room temperature 120 g Brown sugar 2 tbsp All-purpose flour 450 g Pumpkin puree©angiesrecipes 1 tsp Vanilla 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ground ginger 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg 3 Eggs	200 g Sour cream 1 tbsp Sugar

For praline, line a baking sheet with foil. In a heavey skillet place the 100 grams of granulated sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the skillet occasionally until sugar begins to melt. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the chopped walnuts and cook until sugar is golden brown and walnuts are toasted. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading with a wooden spoon as thin as possible. Cool and chop the cooled praline into smaller pieces. Place 1/3 of the chopped praline in a blender container and process until ground. Store them in separate boxes in fridge until ready for use or up to 1 week.
For crust, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until softened. Add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Sift in the flour. Beat at slow speed just until combined. Press the dough onto the bottom and 4cm up the side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake the crust in a 190C/375F oven about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool crust on a wire rack while preparing filling.
For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat quark cheese, 120 grams of brown sugar, and the flour with an electric mixer on a medium speed until combined. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Beat until combined. Add in eggs and beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the coarsely chopped walnut praline pieces, reserving the powder for the topping.
Pour the filling into the crust and return to the oven. Bake in a 190C/375F oven for 40 minutes or until center appears nearly set. In a small bowl combine sour cream and granulated sugar. Spread over top of cheesecake.
Cool cheesecake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a small metal spatula to loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool completely and chill, covered, in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle the ground praline over the sour cream topping.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

Autumn is the season for pumpkin recipes. So here is another one, which comes from one of my favourite baking source Dr. Oetker Backen A-Zangiesrecipes. This deliciously soft yeast-risen pumpkin bread is a great alternative to the moist, dense pumpkin quick bread, which is leavened with baking powder or/and baking soda.

300 g Hokkaido pumpkinangiesrecipes, peeled and seeded
45 ml Water
3 tbsp Milk, lukewarm
2 tbsp Honey
100 ml Olive oil
3/4 tsp Salt
500 g German #550 flourangiesrecipes
15 g Fresh yeast

Cut the pumpkin flesh into small dices. Place them in a pot with water over medium heat. Cook until soft and puree the pumpkin with a blender.
First add milk, honey, olive oil, salt and pumpkin puree in the pan of your bread machine. Then add in flour. Make a dry well in the center and add the yeast to the well. Program the bread machine the "Dough" cycle.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press it down to flatten. Form the dough into a roll and place into a greased 30cmx11cm loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Make a 1cm deep slash in the center along the length of the dough. Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the bread pan and cool on a rack.