Pumpkin Recipes
As well as having fun carving pumpkins, they’re actually a great ingredient to cook with!
A fun way of getting your kids to eat this nutritious vegetable.
Below are 4 recipes, which are samples from our recipe book that has 16 Pumpkin recipes.
4 Pumpkin Recipes
1. Chicken, squash & pesto lasagne
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp plain flour
600ml chicken stock
500g tub mascarpone
190g jar pesto
bunch basil, leaves picked and chopped, save a few small whole leaves to serve
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
good grating of nutmeg
12 lasagne sheets
85g parmesan, grated
splash of milk
50g pine nut
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Add the onions and cook until softened, then add the garlic and cook for a few mins more. Push the onions and garlic to the edge of the pan, add the chicken breasts and cook for a few mins each side to brown. Sprinkle over the flour and stir it into the onion mixture. Tip in the stock and season. Cover and simmer for 10 mins – or until the chicken is cooked through. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Add half the mascarpone and the pesto, stirring until the mascarpone has melted into the sauce, bubble for a few mins to thicken a little, then remove from the heat and stir in the basil.
Meanwhile, place the squash in a large bowl with 2tbsp of water, cover with cling film and microwave on High for 12-15 mins, until really soft. Season the squash with a little of the nutmeg and some salt and pepper, and mash lightly with a fork.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Spoon half the chicken mixture into the bottom of a 20 x 30cm ovenproof dish. Cover with 4 lasagne sheets, then the butternut squash and half the Parmesan. Top with another 4 lasagne sheets, the remaining chicken mixture, then a final
layer of lasagne. Mix enough milk into the remaining mascarpone to make a smooth sauce – you need to aim for a consistency similar to white sauce. Season with remaining nutmeg, salt and pepper, then pour over the lasagne. Scatter over the remaining Parmesan and the pine nuts. Bake for 40 mins until piping hot in the centre and crunchy and golden on top. Scatter with a few extra basil leaves before serving.
2. Winter vegetable curry with fruity raita
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
½ pumpkin, winter squash or butternut squash, cut into cubes
4 carrots, cut into batons
2 parsnips, cut into batons
3 tbsp curry paste (or gluten-free alternative)
8 large ripe tomatoes, 2 cut into wedges
6 garlic cloves, peeled
thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and chopped
small pack coriander, chopped
200g brown basmati rice
6 tbsp low-fat natural yogurt
100g mango, cut into cubes
1 tbsp mango chutney
small pack toasted flaked almond
Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Tip in the onions and cook for 10 mins until soft. Stir in the pumpkin, carrots and parsnips, and cook for 5 mins until they begin to soften. Add the curry paste and cook for another 3 mins.
In a bowl, whizz together the whole tomatoes, garlic and ginger until smooth, then pour over the vegetables, adding 200ml water. Save a handful of coriander to serve, and stir in the rest. Pop on the lid and simmer for 40 mins or until the vegetables are tender. Uncover, stir through the tomato wedges and reduce to the thicken the sauce.
Meanwhile, cook the rice following pack instructions. Mix the yogurt, mango and chutney in a small bowl. Fork the rice into a serving dish and scatter the curry with remaining coriander and the almonds. Season, then serve alongside the rice and fruity yogurt.
3. Halloween pumpkin cake
For the cake:
300g self-raising flour
300g light muscovado sugar
3 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g sultanas
½ tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
200g butter, melted
zest 1 orange
1 tbsp orange juice
500g (peeled weight) pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, grated
For drenching and frosting:
200g pack soft cheese
85g butter, softened
100g icing sugar, sifted
zest 1 orange and juice of half
Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking or small roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined. Stir in the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.
To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
If you like, trim the edges of the cake. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake in peaks and swirls. If you’re making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. Will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.
4. Pumpkin passion cupcakes
175ml sunflower oil
175g light muscovado sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g coarsely grated pumpkin or butternut squash flesh
100g sultanas
grated zest 1 orange
2 tsp ground cinnamon
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the frosting
200g tub full-fat cream cheese
85g icing sugar
toasted chopped pecans to decorate (optional)
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases. Pour the oil into a large bowl and add the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat together, then add the grated pumpkin, sultanas and orange zest.
Stir in the cinnamon, flour and bicarbonate of soda, the mixture will be quite wet. Spoon into the cases. Bake for 25 mins until firm and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. At this stage you can freeze the cakes for 4 months.
To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth then spread on top of the cupcakes. Leave plain or decorate with toasted pecans. Store in the fridge, but return to room temperature to serve for the best flavour and texture.