Finding comfort in the pumpkin patch

I was planning to pop up to my community garden on the weekend, to have a play and get dirt under the nails while planting  out my little broccoli babies. But the weather disagreed – it was cold with gale force winds and an apparent temperature of just three degrees Celsius. What a day like that calls for is some serious comfort food.

 
Fortunately some of the best vegies for comfort food grow during summer, and pumpkin is at the top of the pile. Roast pumpkin, pumpkin soup, pumpkin scones, sweet pumpkin pie – I even make a spectacularly caramelly pumpkin ice cream. Pumpkin is not just versatile but easy to grow and use.

Healthy pumpkin plants need a few essential ingredients – a sunny, sheltered position, rich soil with lots of composty goodness, and space. Pumpkin plants need a few good metres around them, as they grow really big, and will also suffer from powdery mildew on the leaves if they don’t get enough sun or air. Sow your seeds direct in late spring or early summer, about 2cm deep, and you should see seedlings emerge in a week or two.

My community garden plot, where pumpkins and other vines grew happily around the corn last summer.

Unfortunately, my poor little pumpkin seedlings were eaten by slaters the minute they emerged. Next year, I’ll be sowing seeds in pots and growing the seedlings to a more resilient size before planting them. As luck would have it, a pumpkin plant self-sowed itself in my community garden plot in mid-Summer, producing two good-sized pumpkins before it was time to clear out the patch in late April. Pumpkins are best picked in April or May, before the first real frosts hit. Leave 10cm of stem attached and put the pumpkin in a sunny place for a few days to help it store better and longer.

Pumpkin soup

Leave a long stalk to help preserve your pumpkin.

Basic recipe: Cube half a kilo of pumpkin and either boil or steam in a large saucepan until soft. Roughly dice an onion, crush a few cloves of garlic and gently sauté them with olive oil in a pan over a medium heat until soft and translucent. Add to the pumpkin along with a litre of vegetable or chicken-flavoured stock. Using a stick blender, blend the saucepan’s contents until you have a soupy consistency. Bring to the boil, season to taste and serve with a dollop of coconut cream or natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of chives, coriander, nutmeg, or raw or roasted pepitas.

Variations: Roast your pumpkin first for a rich, super creamy flavour (recipe below), or try adding any vegies of choice – steamed potato, parsnips, broccoli, and zucchini all work really well. While you’re at it, why not chuck in some spice! Simple dry fry a few teaspoons spices – try a cumin, fennel and paprika combo, or your favourite curry powder.

Roast pumpkin salad

Turn the oven right up to around 200-220 degrees Celsius. Cube your pumpkin, leaving the skin on, and place it in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and that magical spice trilogy of paprika, cumin and turmeric, the merest pinch of cayenne pepper, and a good shake of salt. Chuck in some potatoes and sweet potato in while you’re at it. Toss to coat the vegies in the oil and spices and roast for around 30 minutes. At this high temperature the pumpkin will caramelise as it cooks, giving both fantastic flavour and texture. Serve toasty hot as part of any roast dinner.

If you can manage to save some of the pumpkin for lunch the next day, it will make a wonderful addition to any salad. Simply toss together with some shredded lettuce, cabbage and/or baby spinach, cubed or sliced avocado and scatter some fresh or roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sunflower seeds over the top. The crunch of the pepitas, the creaminess of the avocado, the divinely caramel pumpkin and freshness of the greens just all work perfectly. 

Roast pumpkin salad with iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, avocado and toasted pepitas and sunflower seeds.

Roast pepitas

Toss your pepitas and sunflower seeds in a little olive oil, roast in a 140 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, then stir through the same spices you’d use with your pumpkin. Serve hot as pre-dinner snack – they’re seriously moreish!