How to Cook a Fresh Pie Pumpkin For a Pie and So Much More
With the holiday season right around the corner, I'm thinking about how I can squeeze more homegrown and locally grown veggies into my family's meals.
Yes, veggie side dishes, got that. Yes, fresh salads, got that. But, going a little further...
Have you ever tried using the “real thing” when making your holiday pumpkin pies?
I mean not canned, but the real veggie straight from the garden or a local farm?
Why should you care?
Because it tastes so much better and is easy to do!
What is a pie pumpkin?
Wait, are you talking about the halloween pumpkins...? Nope, I'm talking about pumpkins that are specifically grown for cooking and making pies. Their flesh is smooth, relatively dry (but not too dry), stringless, and makes a delicious puree ready for your recipes!
There are many varieties of pie pumpkins available in the seed catalogs of different shapes and sizes, from traditional pumpkin shaped (New England Pie Pumpkins) to unusually shaped like the Heirloom Long Pie Pumpkins we grew this year.
Heirloom Long Pie Pumpkins
How to cook a fresh pie pumpkin for a pie
Here is the basic recipe for cooking a pumpkin and making a puree that you can use in a pie or any other recipe that calls for puree.
- 1 pumpkin, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
- Neutral oil, optional
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rub flesh of pumpkin halves with oil (optional). Place pumpkin halves on baking sheet face down. Roast until tender, aka a knife pierces easily through the skin and flesh, about 45-60 min. Let cool until easily handled. Scoop/scrape pumpkin flesh from skin, discarding skin. Puree flesh until smooth. Portion out the amounts you need for your recipes and refrigerate or freeze.
And so much more!
Here are our favorite ways to use pumpkin flesh! Because you probably have a million and a half other ways to use pumpkin in sweet applications (pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin scones, pumpkin latte, etc), I'm going to share with you our best savory options to mix it up! Plus here's our most recent favorite recipe that we've been enjoying this week for lunches.
Pumpkin recipes on our website:
Find all of these here:
- Coconut Curried Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin & Potato Bake
- Pumpkin Minestrone
- Pumpkin Pie, Ripley Farm style
- Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere
- Simple Savory Pumpkin Spoon Bread
- Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Soup
BONUS: Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Please don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients. This is easy to make and makes a lot and is very warming and satisfying as part of a meal. Plus it's easy to heat up!
- 2 TBLS cooking oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger root, grated or minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 4-5 cups roasted pumpkin flesh puree
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 3 cups broth (more may be needed to thin)
- salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion with salt in oil until softening. Add garlic and spices, stirring for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, coconut milk, broth, and black pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer until tender, about 20 min. Puree. Add more salt if necessary and more water/broth to thin if desired.
Add new comment