Cook Pumpkin

How to cook pumpkin

Autumn vegetable par excellence, the pumpkin lends itself to many recipes, from appetizers to desserts, savories or desserts. Despite its sugary taste it does not have a high calorie content; it is rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Its orange yellow flesh, firm but tender, has excellent culinary qualities.

In the kitchen the Mantovana and Marina di Chioggia varieties are preferred for their excellent quality, fine and suitable for velvety, stuffed and risotto, the Piacenza, compact and tasty, and the excellent Butternut Rugosa with a vaguely nutty taste. When buying, make sure that the pumpkin is fully ripe, optimal condition of use.

So many are the tasty dishes in which the pumpkin is the protagonist, as many are the ways you can cook it. You can prepare the pumpkin in the oven or pass it through a sieve to make a sauce to season an excellent first course, such as pumpkin risotto with sweet gorgonzola sauce. Or you can steam it in chunks, ready as a base for the dough of your pumpkin gnocchi. Cut into cubes, you can brown it in a pan to finish some pork scallops with pears and pumpkin. Discover on Sale & Pepe the many ways to cook pumpkin.

How to prepare pumpkin for cooking

The pumpkin varies considerably in shape, colour and size depending on the variety. If you buy a quality of pumpkin with an elongated and round shape the preparation is very simple because the yellow and compact pulp has no seeds and filaments. Put it on the cutting board and divide it into thick slices. If it is baked in the oven, you can leave the peel strip attached, otherwise detach it by cutting it with the tip of a knife.
If you buy a large whole pumpkin, especially if it is a variety with thick peel and bitorzoluta, open it first halfway to reduce the size and be able to handle it more easily, then divide it into large segments and with a knife it eliminates the whole central part rich in seeds and filaments. At this point, detach the skin, including the whitish intermediate part between the rind and flesh. The pumpkin is ready to be cooked.

The whole pumpkin is maintained for up to 2-3 months. If cut into pieces, store in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days. If you want to stock it up before the end of the pumpkin season, to keep it for a long time, cook the pulp (baked in the oven, microwave or steam), whisk it and freeze it in trays.