22 | January | 2013 | Bewitching Kitchen

A little over 3 years ago, I shared with you our recipe for pumpkin pie that uses home-made pumpkin puree. Phil is absolutely adamant about it, having grown up watching his Grandma and his Mom make the puree from scratch and producing delicious pies with it. But, there’s more than pie to pumpkin, and by making the puree yourself, you can also enjoy your own roasted pumpkin seeds. Plus, one large pumpkin will give enough puree to last for a year! Yes, you can do it with large pumpkins, even if they are a little more fibrous. And yes, it freezes quite well. Without further ado, here’s how we make it…

First, you need to cover a working surface with newspaper, and your body with a nice apron. Then cut open a lid on the top of your pumpkin, and scoop out all the seeds and the fibers that glue them together. Reserve them for later.

Next, cut large slices that will fit over baking sheets, and place them in a 350 F oven, with the cut side down. No need for salt, no need for oil. Easy as pie.

Bake the pumpkin for about 1 hour, or until soft. A good test is pushing your finger lightly on the skin, it should form an indentation.

Now, let the fun begin! Scrape the flesh into a bowl, and go to the sink, carrying the cooked pumpkin, an empty bowl, and a potato ricer. Place some of the pulp in the masher, and squeeze out with a light pressure, just to release what is mostly water. Let that go down the drain. Once you feel most of the watery stuff is released, puree the pulp into the clean, empty bowl. Do that in batches until all the pulp is passed through the holes of the ricer.

Now, marvel at the beauty of the mashed pumpkin you made yourself, or at least that you took pictures from while your husband worked hard at it… 😉

You can use it to make a nice pumpkin pie like the one I blogged about…

And save the rest in the freezer. I normally make a few 1-cup and some larger portions. Make sure to label, because the freezer can quickly turn into a parallel universe, unknown and mysterious.

My next two posts will feature goodies I made with our uncanned pumpkin… First, I will show you an interesting take on roasted pumpkin seeds, and next… well, next I cannot tell you yet. It’s a secret. 😉