How To Cook Bake Roast A Real Pumpkin Food

ROASTED PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut pumpkin in half; scrape out seeds.
• Drizzle pumpkin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. (Omit pepper if using in sweet dishes.)
• Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast until very soft, about 35 to 45 minutes.

HOW TO COOK / BAKE / ROAST A REAL PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Cut the pumpkin in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds and strings.
• Place halves, hollow side down, in a large baking pan covered with aluminum foil and add a little water.
• Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until fork-tender. Remove.
• When cool, scrape pulp from shells and puree, a little at time, in food processor or blender. Mix with a little salt.
• To freeze pumpkin puree: Put 1/2 cups in freezer bags along with spices and use in pies.
• To use pumpkin puree for recipes: Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth or a flour sack dish towel and let the pumpkin sit to drain out the extra moisture BEFORE cooking with it. Pumpkin is very moist, so in order for your recipe to come out correctly, you MUST strain it.

PUMPKIN PUREE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice a small piece of skin off the one side of the pumpkin so when laid on its side, the pumpkin will lay flat without rolling. Remove the stem and split the pumpkin in half from top to bottom, using a large cleaver and a mallet. Scoop out the seeds and fiber with a large metal spoon or ice cream scoop. Cut the fibers with kitchen shears if necessary. Reserve seeds for another use.
• Sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and lay the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan. Roast until a paring knife can be easily inserted and removed from the pumpkin, 30 to 45 minutes. Test in several places to ensure doneness.
• Remove the half sheet pan to a cooling rack and cool the pumpkin for 1 hour. Using a large spoon, remove the roasted flesh of the pumpkin from the skin to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

COOKED PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Cut pumpkin into small manageable pieces and cut off pith and seeds.
• Place cut pumpkin skin side up in a large roasting pan. Add 1/4 inch of water and bake uncovered for 1 hour or until tender. Remove from oven and allow pumpkin to cool.
• When cooled, cut away skin and mash or puree. Use in any recipe that calls for canned pureed pumpkin.