Don’t throw away those pumpkins that you used indoors for Autumn decorating. Roast them! Cooked pumpkin freezes well and can be used to make pies, quick breads and pumpkin soup (though that is one thing I’ve never tried!)….or any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin.
The hardest part of roasting a pumpkin is cutting it in half; but even that isn’t too bad if you use a really good, sharp knife!
So here goes:
Wash your pumpkin to remove any debris…perhaps a little dust? Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Now place the pumpkin on a cutting board and slice it in half. BE CAREFUL!!! Then take a spoon and start scraping out the seeds.
(You can save the seeds for roasting.) Now your pumpkin is ready to roast. Put it face down in a shallow roasting pan. You can use two small pans, if your pumpkin won’t fit in one. Or you can cut your pumpkin in smaller pieces.
Pour in just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, or until fork tender. The time will vary with the size of the pumpkin. Just start checking it at 45 minutes.
Once the pumpkin is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool in the pan.
Mine is in the oven…so no photo of it, but here are a couple of pie pumpkins that I roasted a few weeks ago.
Once it is cool, take a large spoon and scoop out the cooked pumpkin and throw away or compost the skin. You can mash the pumpkin with a potato masher or even give it a quick spin in the food processor.
You can store it in the refrigerator for about 5 days or freeze it for later use. I usually freeze it in “recipe sized” portions. Check your favorite recipe to see how much that is.
Have a blessed day!
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