Yes, fall is here again. My favourite season! Not those grey and gloomy days when you come home soaked by the rain, of course. I especially love those beautiful sunny days, the fresh mornings with dew on the grass, the changing nature, and vibrant colours. Like the warm orange of the leaves and of course pumpkins! I am an absolute fan of pumpkins, and they are available in all shapes and sizes this season. In addition to placing decorative pumpkins around the house, I often make a curry, soup, or salad with the edible variant.
Zero waste pumpkin
Did you know that you can use many pumpkins completely (except the stem)? When I make a soup or curry, I add the cubes including the peel. The winter squash, Japanese Hokkaido and green kabocha pumpkins are the most suitable and tastiest for this.
I've made three delicious recipes for you with pumpkin, hopefully it inspires you to get started and – just like me – to throw away as little of this beautiful autumn vegetable as possible!
1. Pumpkin pancakes
These hearty pancakes are so good, they sometimes do not even reach my breakfast table. They are ideal before exercise and a great way to start your day with vegetables! The pancakes are nice and soft with a sweet taste.
What do you need:
- 150 grams of pumpkin (without skin)
- 20 grams of oatmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 2 dates
- 1 tbsp biscuit spices
- coconut oil for frying
Peel the pumpkin, remove the threads and seeds, and cut it into small cubes (Save the seeds for recipe 2!). Boil the cubes for 10 minutes. Drain well in a colander.
Puree all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Heat a little coconut oil in the pan and fry the small pancakes until nice and brown.
Serve with a dollop of soft curd cheese or Greek yoghurt and a little honey or syrup.
Tip: crisps
You can use the pumpkin peels for making crisps. Place the pieces of peel (preferably as thin as possible) on a baking tray with baking paper, sprinkle with some salt and let it stand for 15 minutes to remove the moisture from the peels. Then sprinkle with a little (!) sunflower oil, paprika powder and possibly some chili powder and bake at 140/150 degrees Celsius (Gas mark 1 / 275 degrees F) until they are nice and crispy.
2. Granola with pumpkin and pumpkin seeds
Do you have a sweet tooth? Try a pumpkin granola, made with the flesh and seeds of the pumpkin.
What do you need:
- 150 grams pumpkin (without skin)
- 100 grams of oatmeal
- 100 grams of nuts (pecan, almonds, hazelnuts)
- 20 grams of pumpkin seeds
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp biscuit spices
Peel the pumpkin, cut in half and into small cubes. Boil the cubes for 10 minutes. Place the seeds in cold water, they will float to the top. Discard the wires and strands. Boil them for 20 minutes in water with a little salt. Then they are ready to be roasted.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Gas mark 4 / 350 degrees F). Roughly chop the nuts. Mix the oatmeal with the nuts, spices, and salt. Puree the pumpkin with the honey and butter and fold the mixture into the oatmeal and nuts. Place a sheet of baking paper on the baking tray and pour the granola on it. Spread a little until the mixture is spread over the baking sheet. Place the granola in the oven for 10 minutes, turn it after 10 minutes and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the granola has a nice light brown colour. Let it cool on the plate and your granola is ready. Delicious with soft curd cheese or oatmeal.
3. Autumn cake
The best autumn cake is of course made with pumpkin and gingerbread spices!
What do you need:
- 100 gr salted butter
- 150 g wheat biscuit
- 60 g almond flour or buckwheat flour
- 1 whole (organic/unsprayed) pumpkin of 1 kg
- 1 can of condensed whole milk
- 100 g crystal sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp gingerbread spices
- pinch of salt
- 200 ml cream
Before you start, preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Gas mark 4 / 350 degrees F). Melt the butter in a pan and mash the biscuits. Mix the melted butter with the crushed biscuits, pour onto a baking tray lined with baking paper (24 cm) and press down (with the back of a spoon for example). Place in the oven for about 12 minutes.
Wash the pumpkin well: you need the skin in this recipe. Cut in half and scoop out the pits. Remove the hard stem and cut the pumpkin (including skin) into small cubes and cook for 15 minutes. Drain the pumpkin well in a colander. Mash until smooth and let the puree drain for a while in a colander.
Mix the pumpkin puree in the food processor with the condensed milk, eggs, spices, flour, sugar, and salt and add to the baking pan with the baked cookie base. Turn the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (Gas mark 2 / 300 degrees F) and bake the cake for 90 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cake rest for 2 hours. Whip the cream (as thick as custard) and serve next to the lukewarm autumn cake.
