Pumpkin is an inseparable part of autumn. Its distinctive scent is linked with cosy moments spent at home with family, with a mug of hot tea and a warm blanket… Sometimes there is simply too much of it, and even if you have a favourite way of preparing it, you soon grow tired of it. So take a look at these recipes with Hokkaido pumpkin, which may surprise you with their unique flavour.
Table of contents
Pumpkin recipes, traditional and not so traditional
There are countless ways to prepare pumpkin and countless recipes with it. These 10 are sure to catch your eye, and you will find your favourite among them.
1. Pumpkin soup
Pumpkin soup clearly dominates among pumpkin recipes and is certainly nothing new to anyone, yet I believe not everyone has tasted it. At least not one made smoother with homemade cashew cream!
What will you need?
- 500 g pumpkin
- 1 litre of vegetable stock
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 80 g cashew nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Start by soaking the cashew nuts. This softens them so that you can blend them easily later. They should soak for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Scoop out the pumpkin and cut it into larger pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for about 30 minutes at 200 °C. In the meantime, peel and chop the onion. Fry it gently in a little oil until soft, add the garlic and the roasted pumpkin, and pour in the vegetable stock. Cook for about 5 minutes. While the soup is cooking, blend the soaked cashew nuts in a little water until they have the consistency of cream. Once the soup is cooked, blend it with a stick blender and pour in the blended cashew nuts.
2. Pumpkin hummus
Another favourite among healthy eating fans is hummus. This nutritious treat made from chickpeas can be prepared in a hundred different ways. Have you tried the pumpkin version yet?
To make it, you will need:
- half a small pumpkin
- 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
Prepare the chickpeas in the usual way, or you can use tinned ones. However, there is a big difference, so I recommend sacrificing a little time to cooking them.
Roast the cleaned pumpkin. As with the soup, roast it for about 30 minutes at 200 °C. Roasted pumpkin generally has a much stronger flavour.
Once the pumpkin is soft, put it in a blender together with the chickpeas, cumin, garlic, tahini paste and olive oil. Aim for the smoothest possible consistency. You can add olive oil as you go. The amount is hard to estimate, as it depends on personal taste. Finally, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Hummus goes well with baked potatoes and with fresh vegetables, but you can also use it as a spread on bread.
3. Pumpkin pancakes
Pumpkin pancakes are not especially healthy, but in essence you can see them as a more interesting take on potato pancakes.
You will need:
- 2 heaped cups of grated Hokkaido pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- egg
- 50 ml milk
- 1 handful of chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Put the flour, cornflour, egg, milk and parsley in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Only then add the grated pumpkin. Do not cook it beforehand. From the batter, simply use a spoon to form pancakes and fry them in oil until golden.
As with potato pancakes, you can also try a healthier version baked in the oven. In that case, add 2 tablespoons of oil directly to the batter.
4. Pumpkin “cabbage”
Besides the classic version, we have already had kohlrabi “cabbage”, for example, but have you tried pumpkin “cabbage”? You only need a few things.
- a medium Hokkaido pumpkin
- 1 large
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons wine vinegar
- salt and sugar to taste
Coarsely grate the cleaned raw pumpkin. Then fry both onions in butter until soft, add the pumpkin, pour in a little water, season to taste with salt, pepper and wine vinegar, and let it soften under a lid. Once cooked, you can adjust the seasoning further, or thicken the “cabbage” if that is how you are used to it.
5. Pumpkin muffins
The best Hokkaido pumpkin recipes must certainly include something sweet. Try pumpkin muffins, for example, which are perfect for an autumn breakfast.
Prepare:
- 250 g Hokkaido pumpkin
- 200 g semi-coarse flour
- 70 g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 75 ml oil (or 75 g butter)
- vanilla sugar
- baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
First clean the pumpkin and grate it finely. In one bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, in another the wet ones, and finally combine everything and add the grated pumpkin.
Grease the muffin tins thoroughly, or use paper cases. Bake at 180 °C for about 20 minutes.
If you prefer a Bundt cake, double the amount of all the ingredients and try that for a change. It bakes at the same temperature for about 35 minutes.
6. Pumpkin juice
For some, pumpkin juice may be a rather unusual recipe. Its big advantage is that it can be bottled and kept for the whole winter. Multiply the quantities as you like.
- 3.5 litres of water
- 1.5 kg pumpkin
- 250 g sugar
- 2 teaspoons citric acid
You can easily make the basic recipe from the ingredients listed. Leave the chopped pumpkin in water with citric acid overnight. Then boil the pumpkin in the same water until soft and blend it. For a better consistency, you can also strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
The resulting flavour is not particularly strong, though, so it needs a little adjusting. Some people use ordinary syrup bought in a shop, others use juice from seasonal fruit. You can just as well reach for a homemade herbal syrup. It is up to you. For this amount, add about 300 ml.
7. Pumpkin risotto
Pumpkin gives risotto a wonderfully creamy taste. Preparation is very simple, yet you get a luxurious dish that is fit to serve to guests.
You will need:
- 1 kg Hokkaido pumpkin
- 30 dkg short-grain rice
- 1.5 litres of stock
- ¼ litre of white wine
- 1 medium onion
- 7 dkg butter
- 10 dkg grated Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Start with the onion. Chop it finely and fry it in butter. Add pieces of cleaned pumpkin and fry for about 10 minutes. Only then add the rice and pour in the white wine. Once about half the wine has evaporated, pour in the stock. You can use meat or vegetable stock. Cook for about 30 minutes. Finally, season the risotto with grated Parmesan, salt and pepper.
8. Baked pumpkin
Baked pumpkin is another of the typical autumn dishes. It tastes best with roast potatoes! Besides the basic recipe, you can add to it any vegetables you need to use up.
For the basic recipe, you will need:
- 1 kg pumpkin
- 100 g millet
- 200 g sauerkraut (or pickles)
- 2 large onions
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 200 g Cheddar
- about 50 g walnuts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
First clean the pumpkin and cut it into smaller pieces, then boil them for about 20 minutes until soft. But not too soft, as it will be baked afterwards, so it does not turn to mush in the oven. At the same time, cook the millet according to the instructions.
In the meantime, chop the onion and fry it in oil or butter until golden. Remove from the heat, add the millet, sauerkraut, about half the cheese and the pumpkin, and mash everything lightly with a fork. Not too much, so that some pieces remain.
Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, add the walnuts and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Finally, drizzle with olive oil, add a spoonful of butter and bake at 180 °C for about half an hour.
9. Pumpkin chips
With the right spice mix, even chips will be anything but ordinary. Pumpkin ones least of all. You can serve them on their own or with a sauce.
What will you need?
- 1 kg cleaned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- sea salt to taste
For the sauce, prepare:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- a tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons tamari (or another soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
Start by making the chips. Clean the pumpkin and cut it to the size you want. Sprinkle with spices, drizzle with oil, mix thoroughly and bake in the oven until crispy. You can of course also use a deep fryer.
To make the sauce, first prepare the onion. Chop it into small pieces and fry it in oil together with the garlic. Add the remaining ingredients and let it simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes.
10. Pumpkin biscuits
Finally, try one more sweet recipe. This time for pumpkin biscuits that are soft, fragrant with exotic spices and crispy on the outside.
You will need:
- 250 g plain flour
- 100 g sugar
- 125 g pumpkin purée
- 100 g butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Cook the pumpkin, then simply turn it into a purée with a stick blender. After that, just mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. Mix thoroughly.
From the dough prepared this way, shape balls of roughly the same size, place them on baking paper and flatten each of them into a small disc with your hand. Bake at 180 °C for about 12 minutes.
What are your favourite pumpkin recipes?
As you can see, recipes with pumpkin can take many forms. If you are still looking for more inspiration, take a look here. Also read our tips for healthy dinners you can make in a few minutes, and combine them with pumpkin!
