It’s PUMPKIN season ! I love pumpkins because they are so versatile, sweet or savoury; you can include it into meals, desserts, soups, salads, preserves, or as a substitute for butter.

I’m going to be showing you how to make your own pumpkin puree. Shop bought canned pumpkin is not cheap it varies from £2-5 for a 425g can. I bought my carving pumpkin for £2 and made 1800g ; I think we have a clear winner in terms of value for money.

Pumpkins pack a nutritional punch as well, in both the flesh and seeds. Pumpkin is a great low calorie starchy vegetable, with only 26 calories per 100g you can really increase the volume of your dishes and bakes without increasing the calories too much. 

Nutrition

• Great source of Beta-carotene (Gives veg an orange colour) which is converted into Vitamin A in the body
• 50g (an average serving size) of pumpkin provides 123% of your RDA for vitamin A
• Great source of potassium
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Great source of many minerals but in small quantities
• The seeds are good too – source of dietary fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids

Method

Now how do you make it:

• Carefully cut your pumpkin in half and then in half again to make quarters.

  

• Remove the pumpkin seeds with a spoon and maybe a knife if there is a lot of flesh attached to the seeds. (DO NOT WASTE SEEDS)

  

• Pierce the pumpkin quarters with a knife evenly around the flesh.

• Roast on a medium heat for 50-60 mins until the flesh becomes soft and a knife is easily inserted.

• Now remove the flesh from the skin using a knife and spoon.

• Cut the pumpkin flesh up into chunks.

• Put the chunks into a blender/food processor and blend until smooth, you will need to do this in stages as it wont’t all fit in the blender at once.

  

• Decant into containers.

  

• You can then either freeze some of your containers, or use them all for cooking !

There’s plenty of pumpkin recipes on their way so keep checking back for them.