Eat: Four Ways to Cook a Pumpkin, No Matter How You Slice It

Marcus Nilsson for The New York Times; Food stylist: Brian Preston-Campbell

You're carving your jack-o'-lanterns now; soon you'll buy canned pumpkin for pie. Join the club. Almost no one in this country cooks fresh pumpkin.

Yet the pumpkin — or those squashes whose non-English names translate as "pumpkin" — is a staple the world over, turned into substantial dishes celebrated for their sweetness and density. So-called sugar pumpkins, which are smaller and more flavorful than anything you might carve, are the best for cooking and available even in supermarkets. But you can tackle the big boys too.

All four of the recipes are global classics, and all use cubes of pumpkin flesh; admittedly, getting at the good stuff is the tricky part. And of course you can use any orange-fleshed squash in any pumpkin recipe. But given the season, let's assume you're working with a pumpkin. Start just as if you were carving a jack-o'-lantern: cut a circle around the stem, then pull up on the stem and discard it. Using the cavity as a handle, peel the pumpkin with a sturdy vegetable peeler. Yes, it will take a while.

Then cut the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds with an ice cream scoop or heavy spoon. You can discard the seeds or roast them. (More on that in a moment.) Cut or scrape off any excess string and cut the pumpkin into approximately 1-inch cubes. (A 4-pound pumpkin will yield about 8 cups of cubes.)

Every recipe is substantial, even if you make them vegetarian. (To make them without meat, simply skip the beef in the Japanese and Afghan recipes, and substitute more pumpkin for lamb in the Moroccan dish.)

Now the seeds, which you can do even if you are just going to put a candle in your pumpkin. Rinse all the goop off them and pat dry with paper towels; let them dry overnight. Then toss with olive or neutral oil, salt and, if you like, spices. Roast them on a baking sheet at 350 for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Eat: Four Ways to Cook a Pumpkin, No Matter How You Slice It

Dengan url

http://healtybodyguard.blogspot.com/2012/10/eat-four-ways-to-cook-pumpkin-no-matter.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Eat: Four Ways to Cook a Pumpkin, No Matter How You Slice It

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Eat: Four Ways to Cook a Pumpkin, No Matter How You Slice It

sebagai sumbernya