Posted October 30, 2011
While they typically are used for carving, Halloween style, they are also useful in cooking — and have more uses than just your simple pumpkin pie.
Dave Synder, chef and owner of Halyards and Trimici restaurants on St. Simons Island, starts with pies and spreads out from there.
“My secret to pumpkin pie is to add a little sweet potato and butternut squash. I use about 50 percent pumpkin, 25 percent sweet potato and 25 percent butternut squash,” he said.
Synder also likes to use pumpkins in not-so-traditional recipes.
“We do pumpkin soup every fall. It goes well with strong fall herbs, like sage and thyme,” he said. “We will wait for it to cool off a little bit before we start serving the soup, though,” he said.
Like Synder, Archie Prince, head chef of Coastal Kitchen, on Lanier Island at the Frederica River, says he enjoys creating another take on the fruit (yes, a pumpkin is a fruit, because it has seeds).
“Pumpkins come around once a year and you have to find something to do with them. I’ve done pumpkin cheesecake here at the restaurant,” he said.
“You take three pounds of cream cheese and half a pumpkin, probably one pound of cooked pumpkin product. You put that into the cream cheese mix. Then you add about two cups of sugar and a splash of vanilla extract. Then maybe a cup of heavy whipping cream. Mix until smooth,” he said. “Then you add in five eggs, one at a time. That’s the basic mix.”
To make a fall-inspired crust, Prince suggests using crushed pecans and graham crackers.
“I don’t know the exact ratio, but it would be close to a quarter pound of pecans, one pound of graham cracker, one cup of sugar and a pound of melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half. Watch it and rotate it,” he said.
Starting with your basic pumpkin pie, here are some festive ideas for pumpkin lovers:
PUMPKIN PIE
Ingredients
1 9-inch unbaked deep dish pie crust
3âÑ4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1âÑ4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.
PUMPKIN CHILI
Ingredients
4 cups water
1 (15-ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup uncooked bulgar
1 cup chopped Serrano chili pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place all ingredients in a large saucepan, stir well to combine, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low and simmer, covered, 35 minutes. Serve warm.
PUMPKIN SOUP
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1âÑ4 teaspoon black pepper
Nutmeg, to taste
3 cups chicken broth
3âÑ4 cup light cream
3 cups pureed cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup julienned ham
Directions
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until thick and light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar, salt, ginger, pepper and nutmeg; stir to incorporate.
Add chicken broth and cream; bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth.
Add ham and stir to mix. Heat until warmed through, adjust seasonings and serve.
PUMPKIN RAVIOLI
Ingredients
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
1âÑ4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1âÑ4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
Directions
Mix cheese, pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and nutmeg. Set filling aside.
Mix the flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the flour. Beat tomato paste, oil and eggs until well-blended and pour into the well in the flour. Stir with a fork, gradually bring the flour mixture to the center of the bow until the dough makes a ball. If the dough is too dry, mix in up to 2 tablespoons water.
Knead lightly on a floured cloth-covered surface, adding flour if dough is sticky, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover, and let rest for another 5 minutes. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Roll dough, one part at a time, into a rectangle about 12-by-10 inches. Keep the rest of the dough covered while working.
Drop 2 level teaspoons filling onto half of the rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches apart in 2 rows of 4 mounds each. Moisten the edges of the dough, and the dough between the rows of pumpkin mixture with water. Fold the other half of the dough up over the pumpkin mixture, pressing the dough down around the pumpkin. Cut between the rows of filling to make ravioli; press edges together with a fork, or cut with a pastry wheel. Seal edges well. Repeat with remaining dough and pumpkin filling. Place ravioli on towel. Let stand, turning once, until dry, about 30 minutes.
Cook ravioli in 4 quarts of boiling salted water until tender; drain carefully.
©2011 The Brunswick News (Brunswick, Ga.)
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