Pumpkin Korroke

These are one of my favourite Japanese things to eat out. We always have them when we go to Yo! Sushi. I didn't have any panko so I just used brown breadcrumbs. They were still really tasty served over salad.

Squash Korroke
(Serves 3-4)

500g squash/pumpkin
2 tbsp light soy sauce
salt and pepper
1 tbsp flour (if using normal pumpkin)
1 egg, beaten
70ml sake
70g flour
panko breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 200C.

De-seed and peel the pumpkin and cut into chunks. Roast in the oven for 30-40 mins until soft. Either puree of mash with the soy sauce and salt and pepper.

Make the pumpkin mixture into patties.

Whisk together the egg and sake. Add the flour and mix again.

Dip the croquettes into the batter, then cover in panko crumbs, making sure that they are evenly covered. Put onto a baking sheet and then into the fridge for 30 mins to chill slightly.

Heat the oven again to 200C. Bake the croquettes for 10-15 mins until golden and crunchy on the outside.

Foodie Reads 2016: The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club by Marlena Di Blasi - Whole Roasted Cheese and Wild Mushroom-stuffed Pumpkin

Every week on a Thursday evening, a group of four Italian rural women gather in a derelict stone house in the hills above Italy’s Orvieto. There – along with their friend, Marlena – they cook together, sit down to a beautiful supper, drink their beloved local wines, and talk.

This is the second book about Italy that I have read so far this year. I found this one a bit rambling and confusing. It is apparently a memoir but it reads more like fiction, the characters don't feel quite convincing as real people. It's also not very fast paced so might be good to take on holiday.

There is a section of recipes in the back of the book and I went for the Whole Roasted Cheese and Wild Mushroom-stuffed Pumpkin. I made a mini version and stuffed a small squash. It was delicious and after taking a while to cut some of the flesh out of the squash actually really easy to make. I can see how it would make a good sharing dish if done in a whole pumpkin.

Whole Roasted Cheese and Wild Mushroom-stuffed Pumpkin
(from The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club)

1 large pumpkin
105g butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
300g mushrooms
salt and pepper
720g mascarpone
300g emmental cheese, grated
100g Parmesan, grated
3 eggs, beaten with 80ml cognac
2 tsp nutmeg, grated
8 slices day-old bread, cut into 2cm squares

Slice the top of the top of the pumpkin, remove the seeds and strings, then carve away a cm or so of its interior flesh with a thin, sharp knife. Cut the flesh into small chunks and set aside.

In a medium frying pan, melt 45g of butter and saute the onions, reserved pumpkin flesh and mushrooms until they are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine the cheeses, eggs and cognac and nutmeg. Beat with a wooden spoon and then stir in the onions, pumpkin and mushroom mixture.

Melt 60g butter in a frying pan and brown the bread, tossing the pieces about until they are golden and crispy.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Place the pumpkin in a large heavy baking dish or baking tray. Spoon 1/3rd of the cheese mixture into the pumpkin, add half the bread, another third of the mushroom mixture, the remaining bread and then the last of the mushroom mixture. Put the top back on the pumpkin and roast for 1 1/2 hours until the pumpkin flesh is soft.

Serve cut into chunks.

Pumpkin Prawn Curry

This was delicious, really delicious. The pumpkin makes it a lovely silky creamy sauce with the added benefit of the pumpkin. It was just lightly spicy so if you like your curry's hotter use more or use a hotter curry powder.

Pumpkin Prawn Curry (from Epicurious)
(Serves 4)

2 tbsp oil
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 chopped plum tomato
1 400g tin pumpkin purée
500ml vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
450g prawns, peeled and deveined
1 packet stir fry veg
juice 1 lime
Steamed rice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger; sauté until soft, about 8 mins. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Stir in the tomato and pumpkin purée and cook, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin is golden brown, about 10 mins. Add the stock, coconut milk, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 mins. Add the veg, prawns, and lime juice. Simmer until the prawns are pink. Serve with steamed rice.

Pumpkin Pasta Bake

I made this pasta bake with leftover pumpkin puree from the Snickerdoodles I made. I've only once had pumpkin pie at a restaurant, so my experiences of pumpkin are limited but this was really good, so much so that it prompted me to by a whole pumpkin and have a go! I added greens and left out the bacon to make it vegetarian, mostly because I forgot to take the bacon out the freezer!

Pumpkin Pasta Bake (adapted from Skinny Taste)

(Serves 4)

240g dried pasta shapes

1 onion, finely chopped

1 head greens, sliced

1 400g can pumpkin puree

250ml veg stock

3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

handful grated mozzarella cheddar mix

Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray a 23 x 23 cm oven-proof dish with cooking spray. 

Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, add the greens and cook for 3-4 mins. Add the pumpkin, veg stock, rosemary and 3 tbsp Parmesan, stir and season; simmer for about 5 mins.

When the pasta is cooked add it to the sauce pan and mix well to combine. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Put into the oven and bake for 25-30 mins, cover with foil if it gets too dark. Serve with salad.

Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese Pasta Sauce

This recipe came out of part of a leftover tin of pumpkin purée that I used for the snickerdoodles. I didn't have enough for pumpkin pie but I did have enough to have over some pasta. This was really delicious. I didn't think I liked pumpkin before but I'm discovering that I do! I've also got a recipe for a pumpkin pasta bake that I'm hoping to try out in the next few weeks.

Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese Pasta Sauce

(Serves1)

60g pasta

1 tsp oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tbsp low fat natural yoghurt

2 tbsp pumpkin purée

25g goats cheese

1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

5-6 sage leaves, sliced thinly

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch ground ginger

pinch ground cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 secs.

Add the yoghurt, pumpkin puree, goats cheese, parmesan, sage and pumpkin pie spice and simmer until the cheese has melted.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

Serve over the pasta and sprinkle with a little more parmesan.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

A few weeks ago there was a bake sale at school in aid of Great Ormaond Street Hospital. Any offerings had to be healthy. I made some White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, the addition of the pumpkin making them more healthy although with all the sugar I'm not so sure! The sale did really well and made £430! This cause is one that is very close to my heart, I had a couple of operations there as a child, so I was very pleased at how well the parents did.

 

White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (from Sally's Baking Addiction)

(Makes about 20)

 

115g unsalted butter

50g light or dark brown sugar

175g granulated sugar, divided

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 tbsp pumpkin puree

190g plain flour 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

100g white chocolate chips

Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, the brown sugar, and 100g of the granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.

Sieve the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice into the wet mixture and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. 

Fold in the white chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to disperse them evenly throughout the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 mins, or up to 3 days. Chilling is important to enable to dough to be used.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix together the remaining 75g of the granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Roll the dough into balls and then roll the dough balls generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange on 2 baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 mins. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out.  Remove from the oven.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 mins on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack.

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

This was my offering for Mad Hatters this week. I have one pupil who can't eat egg so I'm trying to make things that she can eat. Replacing egg with fruit or veg seems to work quite well. This is such a cheats recipe but it really had to be tried. The result was a soft cake like cookie, which was really rather tasty. The spices really came through and the chocolate chips were nice and melty.

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Oh Sweet Velvet)
(makes about 24 cookies)

1 box red velvet cake mix

1 400g tin pumpkin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves or all spice

100g chocolate chips

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

 

In a bowl, mix together the cake mix, pumpkin, and spices. Add in the chocolate chips and stir well.

 

Using a teaspoon, spoon dollops onto a baking sheet and cook for 12 to 15 mins.