Pumpkin Fest

I opened up our second pumpkin and got busy in the kitchen. Here are three more pumpkin recipes for you lovely people. The pumpkin has all been used now, so there will be some non-pumpkin recipes coming up soon. All of the recipes below use pre-baked pumpkin. The reason for this is pumpkin contains a lot of water and baking it causes some of the water to evaporate, thus giving a stronger flavour. To bake pumpkin pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius/Gas Mark 3. Cut the top off the pumpkin and scrape out the guts and seeds with a spoon. Reserve the seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds, if you wish. Cut the pumpkin into quarters, place in oven and bake for one hour.

Savoury Pumpkin Pasties
Makes four pasties.

I made double the quantity of filling shown below and used the leftovers to make a vegetable stew.

Ingredients:
Pastry:
500g wholemeal flour
250g vegan margarine (I used Pure spread)
Cold water

Filling:
1tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped

200g baked pumpkin, cut into small cubes

100g potato, cut into small cubes

100g sweet potato, cut into small cubes

3/8 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper, as much as you like

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4

Rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the water gradually, until the pastry works together into a ball without being sticky. Put aside in a cool place.

Fry the onions in the oil over a medium heat for five minutes. Take off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients

Roll the pastry out to a thickness of around 5mm. Using a plate as a template, cut out four 20cm circles. Place a quarter of the filling on one half of each pastry circle. Brush the pastry edges with water, fold the other half of the pastry over the filling to form a half-moon shape and crimp well to seal.

Bake for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Icing
Makes 12 cupcakes

This is a recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I halved the recipe listed below to make six cupcakes instead of 12.

Cupcake ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin (I substituted homemade pumpkin puree see this post for recipe)
1/3 cup oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup soy milk (I used rice milk instead)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose/plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (the Silver Spoon ones are vegan)

Cinnamon icing ingredients:
1/2 cup confectioners'/icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp vegan margarine, melted
1 tablespoon soy milk (or other plant milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, plant milk and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir together with a fork - don't use a handheld mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let fully cool before icing.

Icing directions:
Place sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the margarine, plant milk and vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth. Keep at room temperature until ready to use. Spread or pipe onto cool cupcakes.


Pumpkin Soup

Here's a bowl served with croutons and roasted pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g baked pumpkin, cubed or pureed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cinnamon
500ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Fry the onion in the oil over a medium heat for five minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat through. Puree the soup. Heat the soup through again before serving.

Gnocchi with Pumpkin Sauce

Another pumpkin recipe; this one proves I don't only eat desserts. We ate it served on a bed of raw spinach.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps vegetable oil
500 grams pumpkin puree
1-2 tsps dried sage
1 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Generous shake of black pepper
1/3 cup vegetable stock
500g gnocchi

Directions:

Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook on a low heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add the
garlic and cook for a further two minutes. Add the pumpkin, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook for ten minutes at a low heat,
stirring frequenly. Add the vegetable stock and cook for a further five minutes.
Meanwhile cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions.
Drain the gnocchi, then serve topped with the pumpkin sauce.

Pumpkin Tart With Pecan Crust

This is the first of what will probably be many pumpkin recipes. I have two pumpkins to use over the next couple of weeks. The recipe called for a 15oz can of pumpkin, but I substituted home made pumpkin puree for this.

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients: 1 pumpkin

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius/Gas Mark 3. Cut the top off the pumpkin and scrape out the guts and seeds with a spoon. Reserve the seeds to make roasted pumpkin seeds, if you wish. Cut the pumpkin into quarters, place in oven and bake for one hour.

When the pumpkin is cooked, remove from oven and leave to cool. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scrape the pumpkin flesh from the skin and place in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Pumpkin Tart With Pecan Crust

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pecan halves
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
•  
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree OR 420g/15oz home made pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup real maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Set rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9 inch pie plate. Set aside.
2. Spread nuts over a baking pan. Toast for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the smell of nuts fills the kitchen. Set aside 16 pecan halves for garnish.
3. Combine oats, flour, remaining pecans, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a food processor bowl. Pulse until mixture becomes a coarse meal. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Whisk together oil and 3 tablespoons maple syrup, and mix into dry ingredients to form a soft dough. Press mixture into prepared pie plate. Crimp edges. Bake for 10 minutes, and set aside to cool.
4. Blend soymilk and arrowroot in the food processor until the arrowroot is completely dissolved and the mixture is smooth, about 15 seconds. Add pumpkin, 1/2 cup maple syrup, ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and cloves; process until thoroughly blended. Pour filling into baked crust, and smooth the top with a spatula.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the outside inch of the filling is set. Don't worry if the center is still soft; it firms up as the pie cools. Transfer pie to a wire the rack. Gently press toasted pecan halves into hot filling in 2 concentric circles. Cool to room temperature, and then chill until set, about 3 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

The original pumpkin tart recipe can be found on http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pumpkin-tart-with-pecan-crust/Detail.aspx