ORANGE CRUSH:
Fall Means Pumpkins, But They Now Come
in Many Shapes, Sizes and Colors
With
Recipes For:
Pumpkin Pecan
Torte
Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan-Sage Cream
Pumpkin Risotto
Every October for the past
32 years, the hills of Half Moon Bay, California
come alive with the color of orange, a sea of
over 3,000 tons of pumpkins. Pumpkin mania
transforms this quaint coastal town into a
gourdish Brigadoon, with some quarter of a
million people descending upon it to gawk at
pumpkins the size of Mini Coopers, eat more
pumpkin food than you thought imaginable
(including pumpkin wine, which admittedly was
not a hit), and take pumpkin body peel spa
treatments with a mask of pumpkin, oatmeal,
cream, cornmeal, and honey. “Honestly, you smell
like pumpkin pie when you’re finished,” says
Stacy Cooper Dent of the Ritz Carlton Half Moon
Bay, where the treatments are given.
“The whole town goes crazy. Pumpkin this,
pumpkin that. To see this kind of excitement
around a gourd is kind of amazing,” says Peter
Rudolph, chef of Navio restaurant at the Ritz
Carlton. Rudolph prepares a six-course pumpkin
menu that last year included a pumpkin and foie
gras terrine with gingerbread and frisee salad,
chestnut royale with pumpkin bisque and white
truffles, and loup de mer with grilled pumpkin,
candied turnips, pecans and creamy apple broth.
And you thought pumpkins were only for carving
and smashing.
Rudolph gets his pumpkins from Farmer John’s
Pumpkin Farm, which grows 50 varieties. “We’ve
worked really hard with chefs to get the best
for cooking and eating pumpkins,” says owner
John Muller, who likens himself to a grape
grower or small vintner. “Half Moon Bay is the
Napa Valley for pumpkins,” he says, proudly.
Rudolph uses five kinds of Muller’s pumpkins:
Fairytale, Sugar Pie, Zucca, Red Kabocha and
Cinderella, each for a different purpose. He
uses the Fairytale, a fairly new variety, for
braising because its fibers hold together while
cooking and don’t let the meat fall apart. Zucca,
from Italy, and Kabocha, from Japan, are good
for purees and sautéing because of their
density. The high sugar content Sugar Pie is
traditional for pumpkin pie, though Rudolph
blends it with other pumpkins for more depth of
flavor.
Muller doesn’t limit his pumpkins to haute
cuisine, however. “We have one now called Golden
Delicious, that’s strictly for baby food. It’s
smaller with a finer grain that makes it easier
to mush up,” says Mueller. Mueller gives his
wife Eda credit for expanding his pumpkin
horizons. Eda literally scans the globe to bring
in seeds. She grows a few pumpkins and cooks
with them before the Mullers decide to grow the
pumpkins commercially. Marina di Chioggia is one
of 15 Italian varieties the farm produces. It’s
a squat pumpkin with light green, nubby skin and
deep orange flesh. “I like to bake with it and
use it in risotto,” Eda says. “And when you
carve it on an angle the contrast between the
flesh and skin gives you a 3-D effect.”
Some pumpkins are incredibly specialized.
Francisco’s Blossoms, as the name implies, is
grown strictly for the blossoms, which chefs
stuff. “It’s not much of a pumpkin,” John
acknowledges. And the Ka Kai, a gray pumpkin
with orange stripes, is prized for its seeds,
which are not only plentiful but hulled as well.
Pumpkin passion isn’t limited to Half Moon Bay,
though. One of the more fascinating pumpkin
subcultures involves people who grow pumpkins
for their sheer size. The world record is
1,337.5 pounds. Ray Waterman, founder of the
World Pumpkin Confederation in Collins, NY,
predicts a 2,000-pounder within 10 years. Why do
people grow pumpkins that resemble Cinderella’s
carriage after midnight? “Why do people climb
Everest? It’s something for mankind to do,”
Waterman says, unapologetically. (If you want to
try your luck, the Atlantic Giant is the
Incredible Hulk of pumpkin varieties.)
If pumpkin weight lifting isn’t your thing, here
are some cooking ideas.
Annie Cuggino, chef at the
Veritable Quandary in Portland, Ore uses the
drier Kabocha squash on pizza with pecorino
cheese, rosemary, and walnuts. (Nuts, especially
walnuts and pecans, are great partners with
pumpkin.) She also pairs pumpkin with game birds
and any kind of pork.
I love to sauté or oven roast cubes of pumpkin
by itself or with other winter vegetables (such
as sweet potatoes, parsnips or carrots) in
olive oil or in a mixture of olive oil and
butter. Garlic, sage and rosemary are good
seasonings, but you can also try something more
exotic, like cumin or cardamom. Cuggino tries to
stay away from the pumpkin trinity of clove,
nutmeg, and cinnamon. Instead, she’ll combine
roasted poblano peppers with pumpkin, which sort
of makes sense since both are New World natives.
Pumpkin puree seasoned with allspice, nutmeg or
ginger is nice under grilled fish. (Rudolph
prefers strongly flavored fish like wild sea
bass, sardines or mackerel.) Pumpkin is also
great with pastas (in the sauce or stuffing), in
risottos, and in soups with beans and perhaps
some hearty greens such as chard or kale.
Of course, pumpkin pie is the dish most
associated with pumpkin. Early pumpkin pies were
made by filling a hollowed out shell with milk,
apples, and sweeteners like honey and molasses,
then baking it. Spices were probably limited
until clipper ships made them more common. Even
today, most pumpkin pies are pretty ho-hum. Not
so the following recipe adapted from The New
Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila
Lukens. My wife said it was the best pumpkin pie
she’d ever eaten. If you can’t find a good
pumpkin, any hard-shelled squash, especially
butternut, will do. And for some dishes like pie
or soup, canned pumpkin can be a perfectly
adequate substitute.
PUMPKIN PECAN
TORTE
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup toasted pecans
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg white
1 1/2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each allspice and nutmeg
Salt
3 eggs, separated
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
1)Process 1 1/2 cups of pecans and 2 tablespoons
of sugar in a food processor until finely
chopped. Add the flour and egg white and process
until well combined. Press into the bottom and
sides of a 9 or 10-inch pie plate and bake in a
preheated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Let
cool.
2) Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, milk,
cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ˝ teaspoon of
salt in a saucepan and heat just to a boil.
Remove from the heat and add the egg yolks one
at a time.
3) Combine the gelatin with 1/4 cup warm water
in a small bowl and set aside for three minutes.
Add to the pumpkin mixture and transfer to a
mixing bowl. Set over ice and stir occasionally
until cool, 20 to 30 minutes.
4) Beat the egg whites and pinch of salt until
soft peaks form. Sprinkle with the remaining 2
tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until
glossy, 15 to 20 seconds.
5) Fold egg whites into the pumpkin mixture.
Pour into the crust. Tap lightly to remove any
air bubbles. Chill, uncovered, at least 6 hours.
6) Chop the remaining pecans. Whip the cream,
confectioners’ sugar and bourbon until soft
peaks form. Top slices of the torte with the
whipped cream. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.
Makes 8 to 10 portions.
This article originally appeared
in the October 31, 2003 issue of Wine Spectator.
--- MORE PUMPKIN RECIPES ---
PUMPKIN RAVIOLI WITH PARMESAN-SAGE CREAM
A ravioli crimper (looks like a ridged pizza
cutter, makes the
job of making ravioli a lot easier)
1 to 1-1/2 pound pumpkin or other winter squash
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to
taste
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot skim milk
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped, or 2
teaspoons dried
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus
additional cheese for passing
12 sheets fresh lasagna noodles, 5 by 7 inches
each, enough for 36 ravioli
Cornmeal
1) Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds and place,
cut side down, in a baking pan with 1/2-inch
water. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven
about 40 minutes or until very tender.
(Microwaving takes less than half the time.)
Scoop out flesh and puree with nutmeg, salt and
pepper. You should have about 1 1/4 cups.
2) Meanwhile, put butter in a heavy-bottomed
saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir a
few minutes. Add milk slowly and bring to a
bare simmer, whisking constantly. Cook until
thickened and you can no longer taste any flour,
about 10 minutes. Add sage, cheese and salt and
pepper to taste. Remove from heat and put
plastic wrap on the surface to prevent skin from
forming.
3) Spoon out pumpkin puree in 2 rows across and
3 rows down on one lasagna sheet using 1
teaspoon per ravioli. Brush another sheet with
water. Gently put the second sheet on the
first, wet side down. Run a ravioli cutter down
the middle between the two rows and then across,
sealing each ravioli with a 3/8-inch border of
dough all around. Without a ravioli cutter,
press down with the side of your hand along the
rows between the fillings, removing any air
pockets. Seal with your fingers and cut the
individual ravioli free with a knife, then crimp
each with the tines of a fork. Repeat with
remaining pasta and filling until you have 36
ravioli. (To prevent sticking, put ravioli, as
you make them, on a baking sheet sprinkled with
cornmeal.)
4) Bring a pot with 4 quarts of water and 1
teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. While
water heats, gently reheat cream sauce. Add
ravioli to cooking water, stir and cook,
covered, about 3 or 4 minutes. All ravioli
should rise to the surface. Drain.
5) Put half the cream sauce into the emptied
pasta pot over medium-low heat and add the
ravioli. Add remaining sauce and gently stir,
coating all the ravioli. Serve at once with
more cheese passed at the table. Serves 4.
Sam's Cooking Tip: Fresh lasagna sheets are now
available in many places where fresh pasta is
sold. If the sheets you buy are larger than
those indicated in the recipe, reduce the total
number of sheets needed to get 36 ravioli.
PUMPKIN RISOTTO
About 7 to 8 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 1/2 cups cooked but still firm butternut,
acorn or cooked winter squash, cut in 3/8-inch
cubes
6 sage leaves, minced
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 to 6 sage leaves for garnish
1) Heat stock to a bare simmer in a saucepan.
Heat butter in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan
next to it on the stove. Add onion to the
butter and sauté over medium heat until it turns
translucent. Add rice, stir and add 1 1/2 cups
of stock.
2) When the rice has absorbed most of the
liquid, add another 1 1/2 cups stock. Then add
another 1 1/2 cups in the same fashion along
with the minced sage and squash. Finally, add
another 1 1/2 cups stock, salt and pepper to
taste.
3) After most of the stock has been absorbed,
taste the rice. It should be firm but tender.
If too firm, add some or all of the remaining
stock, again tasting to discover when it is just
right. Leave the risotto a little runny before
you add the cheese so it will have a nice creamy
texture.
4) Dish into soup plates and stick a sage leaf
in the middle of each plate. Serve
immediately. Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as an
appetizer.
