From Pumpkin to Plate: Using Every Last Bit This Halloween
Happy Sunday! With Halloween just two weeks away, pumpkins are piling up outside shops, doorsteps and market stalls. They look wonderful, but too many end their short career in the bin. This week, let's give the humble pumpkin the full farm-to-fork treatment and use every last bit of it.
Pick the right pumpkin
Big carving pumpkins are bred for size and looks, so their flesh can be watery and mild. If you plan to cook, choose a smaller variety grown for eating, such as butternut, Hokkaido or a sugar pumpkin, and ask your greengrocer or market stallholder which ones are sweetest. Buying locally and in season keeps food miles low too.
Already planning to carve one? You can still eat it. Cook the flesh the same day you carve, and never eat a pumpkin that has been sitting out for days with a candle inside.
Eat the whole thing
Seeds: Rinse off the pulp, pat dry, toss with a little oil and salt, and roast at around 180°C for 10 to 15 minutes until golden, stirring once. Enjoy as a snack or sprinkled over salads and soups.
Flesh: Roast it in wedges, cube it into soups and curries, or mash it into pasta sauces, risotto and even muffins.
Skin: On varieties such as Hokkaido, the skin softens as it roasts and is perfectly good to eat, so you can skip the peeling.
Stringy middle and offcuts: Simmer them with onion ends and carrot tops to make a simple vegetable stock.
A simple roast pumpkin soup
Cut about 1 kg of pumpkin into chunks (leave the skin on if it is a Hokkaido) and toss with a spoonful of olive oil. Roast at 200°C for about 30 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
Soften a chopped onion and a couple of garlic cloves in a pan with a little oil.
Add the roasted pumpkin and about 700 ml of stock or water, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Blend until smooth and season with salt, pepper and perhaps a pinch of nutmeg or chilli.
Serve topped with your roasted seeds and a drizzle of olive oil.
Whatever is left over
Tough scraps and peelings can go into your compost or food-waste caddy. After Halloween, take any candles and decorations out of your lantern before composting it. Some councils and community groups also run post-Halloween pumpkin collections, so it is worth checking locally.
Share the love
A pot of soup goes a long way, so why not make a big batch and share it with a neighbour, or invite friends over for a pumpkin potluck where everyone brings one dish made from the same vegetable? Food tastes better when it is shared, and wasting less of it is a small, cheerful way to look after the planet.
Wishing you a warm, tasty and low-waste Sunday!
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