Posts Tagged ‘pumpkin’
Cider and Ruth Reichl’s Pumpkin Tureen
In-the-pumpkin soup.
Here’s a simple, filling fall dinner recipe Ruth Reichl recently described on NPR’s Fresh Air. It was one of her staples during her Lower East Side bohemian days. We used a cute, white lumina pumpkin from our new favorite Matt-Cyn Farms in Corvallis, a whole wheat sourdough baguette, Irish swiss and cut down the creaminess down with chicken broth. And added sage. It’s a cheesy soup fortified with the soft pumpkin you scrape down the sides.
We chased it down with cider from a neighbor who generously pressed it for us again this year. I’d love to learn how. Apparently, folks spike their sweet apple cider here with quince.
Speaking of Reichl, I just received my first–and now last–issue of Gourmet. Will it become a collector’s item? I agree with their picks for best restaurants in Portland–Pok Pok and Le Pigeon–although the latter is a little too over-hyped and fois gras/bone marrow-loving for my taste.
The Everlasting Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Sage Cream Sauce over Pastaworks Ravioli
This huge Jarrahdale pumpkin I bought for Halloween decoration and finally roasted for Thanksgiving yielded many more cups of sugary sweet puree than I know what to do with. It’s abundance is to be appreciated in these dire economic times.
I used it make pumpkin tiramisu for Thanksgiving dessert. I froze two containers full of the orangey mush. And I still have a big bowlful of the stuff in the fridge that thankfully hasn’t gone bad yet.
So I used it to make vegan pumpkin black-bottom-like cupcakes for a holiday party for the ESL school where I’ve volunteer taught. Check out the yummy recipe (who knew tofu cream cheese would taste so real) here.
And on a whim tonight, I made a pumpkin sage cream sauce (see above). I first sauteed onions, garlic and leftover sliced leeks in olive oil, added a cup of chicken broth, freshly cut sage leaves, ample scoops of that old pumpkin puree and then stirred in some creme fraiche for creaminess just before serving. It was a perfect compliment to the fresh apple-potato-cremini mushroom ravioli I had picked up at Pastaworks in Portland.
So what should I do with the rest of the pumpkin puree? Any suggestions or recipes would be appreciated. Did I also mention the fridge full of turkey meat and stock? Not that I’m complaining. I’ll host Thanksgiving any year!
Those moist vegan pumpkin cupcakes.
