BRITAIN is embracing Halloween more every year, and finding the creative and childlike enjoyment from carving faces in those big orange fruit and dressing up in silly costumes. But whereas in America where pumpkin pie is a normal food, over here we waste 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin every Halloween, partly because 42 per cent of people don’t know the inside of a pumpkin is edible.
It’s still better to use a real pumpkin than those dreadful plastic imitations, however, why not try some easy recipes to use up this delicious veg?
Pumpkins are part of the same family as squash, courgette and cucumbers. Pumpkin can be used in cakes, soup, curries and much more. Although there are many squash risotto recipes, squash is more potatoey in texture so I prefer to use pumpkin. It is juicier than squash, more like courgette, whose lighter texture prevents a risotto from getting stodgy.
Remove the skin, cut into inch chunks, then roast in the oven, around 180C for 20 minutes until soft. If you’ve roasted your whole pumpkin, you can divide excess into meal size portions and store in the freezer. Fry an onion in a big pan, then add 300g risotto rice, stir for a minute, then add a glass of white wine, a tablespoon of chopped sage, some chopped smokey bacon, and maybe some mushrooms.
Stir until the liquid is absorbed, then add a hot ladle of stock one at a time, stirring for about 20 minutes until the rice is tender. Add your roast pumpkin pieces and some Parmesan, and there you have a delicious weekday meal.
The seeds are great too, just scoop them out of the middle before you carve your pumpkins face, clean off the mush and roast in the oven with some oil or butter and salt, for about 15- 20 minutes; delicious!
Importantly, don’t leave your pumpkin outside longer than necessary because it’s poisonous to hedgehogs, so if you’re not going to eat it make sure it goes in the food waste to make compost and feed the soil rather than emitting methane in landfill. While we’re on the topic of Halloween decorations and wildlife, please don’t use those fake cobwebs outside.
This white plastic based material can be stretched out over bushes to create a cobweb look but the strong strands can easily catch on birds feet and trap the poor creature until it dies of exhaustion or starvation. We can still have lots of fun decorating our houses and dressing up for Halloween, just with a bit of care for the wildlife around us.
Transition Town Wellington