Pumpkins! You carve them or paint them and set them out as decorations for Hallowe’en every Fall. You eat pumpkin pies, usually made with canned pumpkin (which is okay too but it’s hard to make the mental connection between what’s in the can and what you see on your neighbor’s porch, under the Indian corn hanging on their door knocker). If that’s the only use you’re imagining for this hardy winter squash, you’re missing out on some true treats. Here are filling, nourishing and perhaps surprising pumpkin side dishes (note that for each recipe you should use a small pumpkin and not the large kind that is good for Jack O’ Lanterns):
Japanese-Style Pumpkin Slices
Ingredients► One small fresh pumpkin (we like Japanese kabocha, which is traditional for this dish, but any small pumpkin will do)
► Four tablespoons brown sugar
► One half cup soy sauce
► A little canola oil
Directions:
Lightly cover the bottom of the skillet with canola oil and heat on high.
Cut off the pumpkin’s cap. just enough to remove the stem and make a small flat exposed area. Rest the pumpkin on the flat area, for stability, and cut it in half. Remove the seeds and sting, setting the seeds aside if you want to roast them later. Rinse the pumpkin halves, then set each face down on the cutting board and slice in half, across (if you consider the pumkin a bridge, you are cutting the across the middle of the bridge, not from end to end). Now cut all of that into slices about a quarter to a third of an inch thick. Lay the slices in the now-hot oil in the skillet.
In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in the soy sauce. When the pumpkin has made a sizzling sound for five minutes, turn each slice and then add the soy/sugar mix to the skillet. Swish to make sure the pumpkin is covered.
After five more minutes, turn the heat down, cover, and simmer until the soy sauce mixture is just preventing the pumpkin from burning and doesn’t even cover the whole bottom of the skillet.
Serve hot.
Pumpkin Mash
Ingredients► One small fresh pumpkin
► One clove garlic
► One half teaspoon seasoned salt
► One half cup shredded cheese (we like cheddar some days, mozarella other days)
► One tablespoon brown sugar
► One quarter cup plain, unsweetened yoghurt
► One dash of unseasoned salt
► Two tablespoons butter or spread (we like spread with no trans fat)
► Water, for boiling
► A drop of canola oil for the water
Directions:
Boil water in a large saucepan, with a dash of unseasoned salt and a drop of oil.
Cut off the pumpkin’s cap. just enough to remove the stem and make a small flat exposed area. Rest the pumpkin on the flat area, for stability, and cut it in half. Remove the seeds and sting, setting the seeds aside if you want to roast them later. Rinse the pumpkin halves, then set each face down on the cutting board and cut into piece manageable enough to fit into the saucepan.
Boil the pumpkin pieces until they are soft enough to mash. Drain.
Put the butter, seasoned salt and brown sugar in a microwaveable dish and microwave just long enough to melt the butter halfway. Stir to melt the rest of the way and completely dissolve the sugar.
Mash the pumpkin, skin and all, with the butter mixture.
Add the yoghurt, blending thoroughly, and serve immediately. (If you are delaying serving, then don’t add the yoghurt right away; when ready, reheat the mash 20 seconds if needed, add the yoghurt, blend and serve.)
NOTE: You may add a half cup of cooked zucchini to this mash (mash together with pumpkin before adding other ingredients). It will be slightly less sweet, and you may choose to add a little more sugar, or enjoy it as is.
Pumplings
Ingredients► One small fresh pumpkin
► One large egg
► One half cup matza meal
► One teaspoon seasoned salt
► One teaspoon lemon pepper
► Two tablespoons of broth or water
► One half cup canola oil
Directions:
Lightly cover the bottom of the skillet with canola oil and heat on high.
Cut off the pumpkin’s cap. just enough to remove the stem and make a small flat exposed area. Rest the pumpkin on the flat area, for stability, and cut it in half. Remove the seeds and sting, setting the seeds aside if you want to roast them later. Rinse the pumpkin halves, then set each face down on the cutting board and cut into piece manageable enough to fit into the saucepan.
Boil the pumpkin pieces until they are soft enough to mash. Drain.
Mash the pumpkin, skin and all. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix the matza meal, unbeaten eggs, broth, salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly. Slowly add canola oil, blending carefully. Blend in the pumpkin mixture. Refrigerate for half an hour, uncovered.
Remove from refrigerator. With wet hands, form into balls.
For Soup Dumplings:
Bring soup to a boil a half hour before serving; add balls to soup, turn heat back down and simmer for a half hour before serving.
For Baked Dumplings:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil. Lay the balls, evenly spaced, on the sheet, pop into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes; if they start to look crusty, don’t stand on ceremony — take them out and serve them!
Please note that each recipe presents portions good for two to four servings. This nonspecificity is because what constitutes a serving may depend on at least two unknown factors: how much else you are serving at the meal, and how hungry you are!
