1. Creamy pumpkin soup
My absolute favourite when it comes to pumpkin recipes. The key thing in this recipe is a blender as through blending, you achieve the creamy texture.
The only ingredients you will need are:
- Vegetable oil
- A pumpkin
- An onion
- Garlic
- 0.5 – 1 litres of vegetable stock (depends on how large your pumpkin is, if it’s 1 – 1.5 kg, go for more stock, if it’s smaller or if you only want to use half of the pumpkin, go for 0.5 litres of stock)
- Spices
The recipe takes time, about 1 hour overall, but it’s definitely worth the wait!
- Chop the pumpkin into 2 large pieces and put them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes at 160° C so that it becomes soft.
- In the meantime, chop the onion and garlic and fry it in a pot for the soup.
- Once the pumpkin in the oven is soft, take it out, leave it to cool.
- Chop the pumpkin into smaller pieces.
- Add the pumpkin, the vegetable stock and spices to the pot, bring it to boil, cover the pot and simmer for about 10-20 minutes.
- Finally, blend all the ingredients to get the creamy texture.
- Serve with toppings.
As for seasoning, I usually use salt, pepper, chilli powder, ginger, curry and maple syrup which adds sweetness to my soup. But I encourage you to explore the flavours: you might want your soup to be spicier – add more pepper, you might want it to be sweeter – try some cinnamon and more maple syrup. The possibilities are endless and as the recipe is super easy to modify, I encourage you to experiment with it. I usually sprinkle my soup with some sunflower or pumpkin seeds – but you might try any topping you please.
TIP: You can use half of the pumpkin to cook the soup and the other half for a different recipe.
2. Pumpkin salad
This recipe I have just recently discovered. It is colourful and always sets me in a good mood.
Ingredients for the salad:
- Half of a pumpkin
- A bag of spinach
- Red onion, chopped – one is enough unless you really love red onion
- A cup of dried cranberries
- Half a cup of sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Ingredients for the sauce:
- Mustard
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Spices
The key in the salad is obviously the pumpkin. You need to chop it into cubes, season with salt and pepper and bake it (with the peel) in the oven for about 20 minutes at 160° C. If you want to go a step further, sprinkle the pumpkin with sugar before baking so that it caramelizes. After baking, let it cool down.
In the meantime, prepare the sauce for the salad. This can be a little bit tricky as I did not indicate any proportions. But that’s the key: it’s best if you figure out the proportions yourself. I usually begin with 3 or 4 spoons of mustard and add 2 or 3 spoons of honey. Then, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and some spices, such as pepper, a little bit of chilli powder and ginger. Yet, you should definitely try to compose your version of the sauce – whether you like it sweeter or spicier. Try it at every step and change proportions if you can tell something is missing. Remember, with mustard and honey, nothing can go wrong!
Finally, add all the ingredients into a big bowl, mix them together, pour the sauce and enjoy your tasteful, colourful salad!
3. Pumpkin fries
The recipe is simple, fast, affordable and does not require any fancy ingredients so often necessary in many vegan recipes.
The only ingredients you need are:
- A pumpkin
- Vegetable oil
- Your favourite spices
The most challenging part of this recipe is peeling, chopping, and cutting. Cut the pumpkin into thin, regular pieces. Put the pumpkin onto a baking tray and cover it in oil and spices. I usually use my favourites such as curry, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano, but you can choose any seasonings you like, just do not forget to salt it. Otherwise, the fries turn out bland. Once you have prepared your fries, bake them in the oven at 160° C for about 20 minutes. But remember to check up on them as each oven is slightly different and your fries might be ready earlier. If the fries are soft, they are ready to be consumed!
TIP: If you want to serve the fries with some extra sauce, the one from the previous recipe goes perfectly with the fries as well.