Pumpkin Challenge Day 14 - Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirls

Sometimes things just drop into place so perfectly that they are obviously meant to be. Like, for example, how I hadn't got round to opening up my subscriber copy of the September edition of the Good Food Magazine until the end of October. There I was about to start carving pumpkins for Halloween and out drops the usual load of leaflets... advertising mainly but also the monthly subscriber recipe card. And what should it be? Pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

We are all huge fans of cinnamon rolls in this house and I usually find myself irresistibly drawn to them whenever I am at the same event as Geoff's Real Artisan Bread. He does amazing cinnamon rolls and I was really pleased to learn how to make them at the bread course he ran back in March - see my previous blog post about that. Since then I have made them a few times and they always go down well so it seemed only logical to give this recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls ago now that we had an excess of pumpkin to hand.

Of course, I can't help but tinker with any recipe and I used my bread machine dough setting to do all the hard lifting with this one. Actually, it was mainly the icing that I changed on this as I didn't have any cream cheese to hand so I made my usual icing sugar drizzle. Unlike Geoff's, which are all individual swirls, these ones are cooked together in a square tin so come out as a block that you can tear individual rolls from.

It was Saturday afternoon when I made these and Saturday evening by the time I had drizzled over the icing. And so, as we sat watching Strictly Come Dancing, we pulled off rolls from the batch and munched our way through the next dance. Often pumpkin in lost or disguised within a recipe and you could argue that the bake would be the same if it wasn't included. However, I have to say these rolls had a particularly nice flavour that I can only attribute to the pumpkin.

You could easily make these vegan by using soya milk and a suitable margarine instead of the butter.

Pumkpin Cinnamon Rolls (makes 12)

For the dough:
250ml whole milk
25g butter
200g pumpkin puree
500g strong white flour
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp dried yeast

For the filling:
125g butter, 125g light brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla

For the icing:
100g icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, plus water

Use a bread machine on dough setting or an electric mixer or your hands to bring together the bread ingredients as a dough. Knead for 10 minutes and leave to rest for an hour. In the meantime, make the filling. Knock back the dough and roll out to a rectangle to 30 by 40cm. Spread the filling over the dough then roll up tightly along the longest length. Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased square tin. Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes then allow to cool completely. Make up the icing using just enough water to allow it to pour and drizzle this over the rolls. Tear off to eat.

Day 13 Pumpkin Challenge - Sausage Stew with Cheesy Dumplings

I don't know if it is a quirk of the variety of pumpkins I have grown this year or something to do with the heatwave in the summer, but I seem to have grown six or so pumpkins with extremely tough skin. I'm not exaggerating about this; I have to take a hacksaw to them to make the initial cut and then sort of prise the flesh from the outer skin. It is time-consuming and hard work and the next day my shoulders feel as if I had a session at the gym. Quite honestly, it is rather off-putting and I have to really be in the mood to attempt to tackle them.

Anyway, I read something online recently about putting whole pumpkins into the pressure cooker to cook and then dealing them with. This seems like it might be the solution I was looking for so at the weekend I used a pruning saw to remove the stem-stub from one of these pesky pumpkins so that I could fit the pumpkin whole into my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. I stood it on a trivet inside the pot with a couple of cups of water in the bottom then sealed the lid and set it for 15 minutes. Once finished and the valve released, I lifted the pumpkin out with oven gloves and put it on a chopping board to cool.

About half an hour later, I took a knife to it. The skin wasn't particularly soft even so but I could at least get a knife into it and I cut it clean in half. Inside the flesh was soft and pulpy, already to turn into pumpkin puree. I scooped out the middle seeds and goo then spooned out the fresh like the inside of a baked potato, leaving behind two shells of pumpkin that could probably be fashioned into re-usable bowls with a bit of knowledge and enthusiasm. Maybe if you have particularly greedy birds they could be used as an alternative to coconut shells to make bird feeders!

The flesh in the bowl only needed a light mashing with a potato peeler to turn it into puree and then it was good to use in any recipe calling for pumpkin puree. Such a relief! I now feel I can use up my remaining tough pumpkins without causing myself injury!

Anyway, I used 150g of the stuff straight away to make a sausage stew for my two daughters and me for dinner. This was a bit of challenge as my picky daughter had suggested she might like stew and dumplings as long as I did this and that and blah, blah... I figured the best idea was to get her down from her room and into the kitchen to discuss my plans and see what she thought. She wanted a smooth sauce and then only chunks of vegetables that she liked - sweet potato, butternut squash and carrot. And the mushrooms had to be cut up very small. And could I add some spice and some chilli? We compromised on some Cajun spice with no chilli powder. She was there to taste it as we went along and it met with her approval. Indeed, we ate it all, mopping up the last bits with some chunks of homemade bread.

My daughter wanted to know how many of her 5 a day she had ticked with this meal and I reckon it was probably about seven so she was very proud of herself. I figure that the combination of passata, pumpkin puree and other flavours would make a great pasta sauce too so I might use it mid-week for a quick pasta meal to get some more veg inside her.

Sausage Stew with Cheesy Dumplings (serves 2-3 people)

10g dried mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
500g passata
150g pumpkin puree
4 banger sized sausages, chopped
2-3 Mushrooms,
Mushroom ketchup
Oyster sauce
1 tbsp dried herbs
2 tsp Cajun spice
Carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash

65g self-raising flour,
25g butter,
1 tsp mustard,
12g Cheddar,
1 tsp herbs

Put the mushrooms into a small bowl with hot water and soak for half an hour. Heat some oil in a large saucepan then fry the onions for 3-4 minutes then add the garlic and fry 1 more minute. Add the passata, pumpkin puree and soaked mushroom and its soaking liquid then simmer for 10 minutes. In the meantime, fry the sausage pieces in a frying pan until browned, adding mushrooms a few minutes before done. Splash in mushroom ketchup and oyster sauce. Use a stick blender to blend the sauce until smooth then add the herbs, spices, sausages and vegetable pieces. Cook the stew with the lid on for 30-40 minutes. In the meantime, make the dumplings by rubbing the butter into the flour then adding the mustard, cheese and herbs and a little water to bring together into a dough. Split the dough into 6 pieces then plop on top of the stew and cook with the stew for its final 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Challenge Day 12 - Pumpkin & Ginger Teabread

I have been making Pumpkin and Ginger Teabread for years now. It uses fresh pumpkin, grated into the cake, so it one of those things you can only make when you cut into a new pumpkin. That's to say, it's doesn't use pumpkin puree, and as such you can't use puree saved in the freezer or from a tin. I, therefore, see the cutting of a new pumpkin as an opportunity to make this wonderful cake and all in all I don't make it more than once or twice a year. This, and its flavour, means it is remains held in high regard in our household.

It is worth noting that I have had some failures with this cake. There have been occasions when, despite being put into the oven for the required length of time, it has still been doughy in the middle. Despite putting it back into the oven for longer and even getting to the point where it was burning on top, it has remained apparently under-cooked in the middle. 

The first time this happened, I had just had a new oven installed so I blamed the oven. However, since then, and with experience of similar failures with other recipes, I have concluded that it is in fact down to the pumpkin. Specifically, the water content of the pumpkin. Ideally the pumpkin flesh used in this recipe needs to be quite dry - with the consistency of, say, a carrot, rather than a cucumber. Some lantern type pumpkins can be quite soft and wet so if you have a pumpkin like that, forget it (or use carrot instead). 

If you have one with a firmer flesh then give it a go because it is such a lovely cake when it turns out well - like a soft, gingery Madeira cake. And, should it hang around long enough to go a little stale, it also makes an ideal cake to line the bottom of a trifle.

Pumpkin and Ginger Teabread

175g melted butter

140g clear honey

1 egg, beaten

250g fresh pumpkin

100g light muscovado sugar

350g self-raising flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 180°C, gas 4 and line a 2lb load tin. Mix together the butter, honey, egg and pumpkin. Add the muscovado sugar, flour and ginger and stir until well combined. Pour into the tin then sprinkle over the Demerara sugar. Bake for 50-60 minutes until risen and golden. Check that a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool for 10-15 minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack.

Day 11 Pumpkin Challenge - Pumpkin Pakoras

Whenever I have a lot of any one vegetable, I always find myself wondering if it is suitable for sticking into a spring roll, a samosa or a pakora. For example, there is nothing I like better than a purple beetroot bhaji, so why not try a pumpkin pakora.

I didn't grow up with Indian cuisine so I am definitely no expert so I looked up the difference between a bhaji and a pakora and to be honest I couldn't really find one. It seems that a bhaji is the name given to an onion pakora. So maybe my beetroot bhajis should really be called beetroot pakoras, except I like the alliteration of a beetroot bhaji, and as such, I like the alliteration of a pumpkin pakora. I also, as it happens, like the flavour of a pumpkin pakora too - win, win!

We are not massive Indian food lovers in our house, mainly because we aren't keen on highly spiced foods, particularly chilli. However, when you make pakoras from scratch, you can adjust the spice to match your tastes, and, indeed, create a spice blend to match your preferences, so please feel free to adjust that to your palate. Other than that, it is very straightforward and should you not have gram flour or rice flour, use plain flour and cornflour and it will still turn out tasty, if less authenic.

Pumpkin and Red Onion Pakoras

100g grated pumpkin
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp dried herbs
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
80g gram flour
1 tbsp rice or cornflour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Mix together the pumpkin, onion, salt, spices and herbs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours and bicarbonate of soda then add just enough water to form a thick, coating batter. Add the vegetable mix to the batter and stir well. Heat a wok full of oil until hot then add spoonfuls of the batter mix.
Cook in batches, turning once during cooking, until golden brown. Keep warm in the oven until all are cooked then eat hot.

Pumpkin Challenge Day 10 - Pumpkin Ice-cream

It was way back in 2009 when I saw something written by James Martin in a magazine suggesting stirring pumpkin puree through vanilla ice-cream. I thought at the time that he had lost the plot but on further consideration it sounded like it had potential. I remember that when I googled it later that day, I discovered something like 250,000 hits for pumpkin ice-cream. Out of curiosity I have just googled it again and today I got 114,000,000 hits! It clearly isn't as unusual as I first imagined.

The one thing about pumpkin is that it goes very well with spices such as ginger and cinnamon. I think vanilla is a bit wish-washy to go with pumpkin so I never did bother to test out the James Martin idea of stirring pumpkin puree through vanilla ice-cream. Instead, I found a recipe that included cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin I decided to give it a go and we have been eating it as a seasonal ice-cream ever since.

It makes an interesting ice-cream, unlike anything you are likely to find in the shops. As you can imagine, the spices are the dominate flavour with a slight toffee flavour from the sugar. No hint of pumpkin, in case you are wondering. It is the perfect thing to dollop next to a hot winter pudding such as apple pie or sticky toffee pudding.

Pumpkin Ice-cream

450g fresh pumpkin
300ml whipping cream
120g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch of salt

Peel and chop the pumpkin then steam until soft. Mash until a smooth puree is formed. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend for about a minute until well mixed. Pour into suitable containers and put in the freezer. Take out of the freezer after 2-3 hours and whip up with a fork to break up the ice crystals before returning to the freezer.

Day 9 Pumpkin Challenge - Pumpkin Katsu

I first came across Pumpkin Katsu when I visited Yo Sushi a couple of years ago for the first time. Yo Sushi is a little daunting when you first go as not only do they have the relatively unusual serving arrangements of food dishes passing by on a conveyor belt, but the menu, unsurprisingly, is full of Japanese dishes. Although I had by that point eaten in Akasaka in Wolverton and been introduced to Japanese cuisine generally by my step-daughter, I was still a little unfamiliar with the dish names. Fortunately, I was with my eldest daughter and she had visited Yo Sushi a few time previously with my step-daughter so was a little more au fait with the surroundings and the menu. So it was her that grabbed a bowl of pumpkin katsu from the conveyor belt and suggested I gave it a go.

Needless to say, I enjoyed my first pumpkin katsu and I have made it a few times at home now. The easiest way I find is to just take slices of pumpkin, coat them in breadcrumbs and deep fry them. It feels as if the pumpkin wouldn't cook quick enough during the brief time in the oil but my previous attempts at pumpkin tempura (a future post) had told me that it would be fine. And indeed it is, coming out crispy on the outside and beautifully soft on the inside.

I don't know an awful lot about Japanese cuisine but a little research has told me that katsu can be used to refer to things deep fried in breadcrumbs. Chicken katsu, for example is very popular and you can even buy this as a ready meal in supermarkets. Katsu is then usually served with some kind of sauce. Often this is a curry sauce but equally it can be served with a tonkatsu sauce. This is very similar to a barbecue sauce and you can make it at home by mixing together some ketchup, Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce and oyster sauce.

The curry sauce that comes with the ready meal chicken katsu seems to be more along the lines of an Indian curry sauce or similar to the ones you might buy at a fish and chip shop. However, it seems more appropriate to me to make it with the blend of spices more usually associated with Japanese cuisine and for this you need some Japanese curry powder. You can pour the curry sauce over the pumpkin katsu but we prefer to serve it as a hot dipping sauce so that the katsu remains crisp and each diner can control how much sauce they want to eat.

I confess that a lot of my uses of pumpkin in recipes completely disguises the pumpkin so that you can't taste it or (often) even detect it in the resulting recipe. This is because it is there for what it adds to the texture of the dish or because it absorbs the flavours of the other ingredients (a property of pumpkin I particularly like). However, in katsu you can actually taste the pumpkin so if you have ever wondered what it tastes of and if you actually like pumpkin in its own right, then katsu will allow you to find out.

Pumpkin Katsu

Slices of pumpkin
Plain flour,
1 egg,
Panko breadcrumbs
Sunflower oil for frying

1 small onion or a shallot, finely chopped
1cm piece of root ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp Japanese curry powder
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey

Cut as many slices of pumpkin as you wish to eat  - e.g. 3-4 pieces per person. Dip each slice firstly into the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs to coat. Heat a good depth of oil in a wok then drop the coated pumpkin pieces into the oil in batches. Cook for a couple of minutes then turn over and cook until golden. Transfer to a baking tray in an oven to keep warm until all pieces are cooked. To make the sauce - fry the onion in a small pan then add the garlic and ginger. Fry one more minute then add curry powder and flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add water to make a thick dipping sauce then add soy sauce and honey and taste. Serve as a dipping sauce with the pumpkin.

Pumpkin Challenge Day 8 - Sweet Pumpkin Pancakes

After yesterday's post about savoury pumpkin pancakes, it seems only logical to bring you the recipe for sweet pumpkin pancakes today.

I have been making these for years now, along with other variations using mashed over-ripe bananas or cooked apple pulp instead of the pumpkin. They make for a great Sunday breakfast and any leftovers are easy to reheat the next day either in the microwave or toaster. Equally you can eat them as a dessert too. They also freeze really well.

It is possible to make these plain or to sprinkle a few sultanas into the middle as you fry them, tailoring each one to the likes of the person eating them. We enjoy them served with squirty cream and maple syrup and occasionally a sprinkling of blueberries if we have some in. But, as with all pancakes, they can be topped with whatever you like.

Sweet Pumpkin Pancakes

250g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
1 tsp mixed spice
55g light brown sugar
3 eggs
284 ml carton buttermilk
175 g pumpkin puree
4 teaspoon sunflower oil

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, raising agents and spice. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, milk, pumpkin and oil. Make a well in the centre of the flour and gradually mix in the wet ingredients until a batter forms. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add 60ml (2 tablepoons or 1/4 cup) of batter at a time. Sprinkle in some sultanas at this point if you wish to. Cook until the base is set then flip and cook until the second side has set and browned. Either serve hot or cool on a wire rack and freeze for use later.