Fresh Pumpkin Recipes: 5 Great Ways to Use Fresh Pumpkin

It's autumn, and veggie shops are overflowing with beautiful golden pumpkins. Pumpkin is a highly nutritious vegetable, rich in antioxidants, fiber and vitamins, so it's a great way to add goodness to fall menus.

You can substitute canned pumpkin in any recipe using pumpkin puree, but you'll get a better flavour if you cook fresh pumpkin yourself. For the best flavour, slice and seed fresh pumpkin and roast in a medium oven for 30-40 minutes until tender. When cool enough to handle, remove skin and mash or blend the flesh. Alternatively, peel and seed raw pumpkin, cut into chunks, place in a large pan with the minimum of water and simmer until tender. Drain thoroughly and mash, blend or process to a puree.

Here are 5 ideas for using fresh pumpkin.

Pumpkin soup Pumpkin makes wonderful soup. Cook cubes of fresh pumpkin in vegetable stock, adding other vegetables such as onion, leek, potato, carrot or turnip if you wish. When the vegetables are tender, puree in a blender or food processor. For extra savour, add spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. Ground or grated fresh ginger also work well.




Pumpkin cakes Add up to 175ml (1 cup) pureed pumpkin to teabread recipes, for moistness. Always use spice with pumpkin, because its natural flavour is very mild. Traditional choice is a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.




Pumpkin pies Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a pumpkin pie. The simplest way to make one is to use bake a pastry case or pie crust (or buy a good quality ready-made one). For enough filling for two 9-inch (20cm) pie crusts, mix 450 ml (2 ½ cups) pumpkin puree, fresh or canned, with 5 fl oz low-fat evaporated milk, three beaten eggs and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, ¾ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp each nutmeg and allspice (but check before adding spices, as some canned pumpkin comes ready-spiced). Bake for 15 mins at 425F/220C/gas 7, lower the temperature to 350F/180C/gas 4 for another 40 minutes.




Pumpkin pancakes Great for breakfast, these are whizzed up in minutes. Substitute 90ml (1/2 cup) pumpkin puree for the same quantity of milk in your favourite pancake recipe and cook in a hot pan, pouring just enough batter to make small pancakes.




Pumpkin in savoury dishes Try cubed pumpkin, browned with onion and garlic, then simmered in a tomato sauce with a dash of chilli. Great with pasta or rice. Or use pumpkin in risotto. Finely chop and soften 4 shallots or one onion in a little olive oil. Stir in 250g ( 1 ½ cups) risotto rice, 500g (3 cups) grated fresh pumpkin (use a food processor to do the grating), then gradually add 850ml (5 cups) hot vegetable stock, making sure each addition has been absorbed into the rice before you add the next. When rice and pumpkin are tender, stir through a generous grating of Parmesan cheese, and leave to stand, covered for 10 minutes to allow the rice to swell.

Pumpkin is only in season for a couple of months, so make the most of it this year in these fresh pumpkin recipes.

Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe - Easy to Make

Here is a recipe I created that was inspired by my grandmother for
homeade pumpkin pie,
This is always a huge hit in the fall for Our Oldest son's birthday its his special request and I have found through the years that even people who never liked pumpkin pie before are asking for second helpings and the recipe once they give it a try,
This is very mild in flavor and just a super easy recipe,
So if you want to impress your family and friends
you should give this recipe a try. Every time I make this it gets rave reviews.

Susan Pittser's Pumpkin Pie Recipe
1 pack of Pillsbury Ready Roll out Pie crust

4 eggs

1 15oz can of 100% pure pumpkin

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 teaspoons of Cinnamon Or the Tupperware CINNAMON/VANILLA seasoning blend

2 cans of milnot Evaporated milk (12oz each)
(pet milk, carnation evaporated milk or other brand will work)

You can choose to make either TWO 9 inch pies or
One 9x13 cake pan with a larger pie for larger crowd, I make the 9X13 version alot and use my Tupperware Rectangular Cake Taker to transport it to potluck and get togethers.
To make the cake pan size I just put two of the pie crusts together and shape the dough out to fit.

To make the filling

Beat Eggs, Add Sugar and Pumpkin and salt and mix together add cinnamon vanilla seasoning blend and then last add the milnot to the mixture then pour the filling into your pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes,

You can tell if the pie is done by piercing the center of pie with a butter knife, if it comes out clean the pie is done, if it doesn't come out clean then bake at 5 minute intervals and testing until done.
Let Stand and Cool and
Top each piece with Cool Whip if desired, Keep refrigerated when storing leftovers.