I have 4 pumpkins stored. Recently I have been researching all of the different things that you can make with pumpkin puree and so I thought I would make some. I didn’t want to put it in the oven and so I researched cooking the pumpkin in the slow cooker. It can be cooked whole, or cut in half. Apparently it will not explode (and mine didn’t.
First of all I washed the pumpkin in warm water and trimmed the stalk so that the lid fitted on. If the pumpkin is too big, cut it in half and put it in the pot with the skin facing up. I used my large slow cooker.
Add 1.5 cups of water. Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 8 hours.
Leave it to cool a while and take out of the dish. I drained mine in a sieve and quite a bit of water came out.
The seeds were kept to air fry with spices for a snack. When cool I scooped the puree out. It came away from the skin easily and didn’t need blending or any thing. I stored mine in a glass container in the fridge. It was drained a couple of times when in the container before I put it in the fridge. More water came out as it was cooling.
I saved the pumpkin water and used it to make gravy the next day. Only the skin was wasted.
Today I made a pizza base with it with flour instead of using yoghurt. It turned out really well.
I will write about that in another blog. Have you used pumpkin puree to make anything? I have only ever roasted pumpkin before, or made soup (which I am not a fan of). It is nice to know that I can use the pumpkins to save money rather than having to use yoghurt in some recipes.
The skin is completely edible and full of goodies. Not being fond of pumpkin soup, you could consider popping it in the blender & freezing it in small portioned packets to add just a handfull to soups, stews, lasagne, meatloaves, bread, whatever – or dry it in the oven or airfryer to make a kind of crisps.
I am quite fond of pumpkin soup. 3 years ago our local hardware store was selling off Halloween pumpkins at 50 pence each, as they had gotten a few black spots. I bought five big ones, ever the optimist, cut them up & baked and blended them, and popped them in the freezer. 5 Halloween pumpkins is a lot! I still have a few bags of it there, and it’s still OK, fortunately.
The black spot bits went to the chickens, who had a field day.
I have used pumpkin puree in mashed potatoes, bread, stews, miscallaneous soups (just a bit) – and in pumkin pies, of course. My Mum made pumpkin ginger jam, that was a treat.
Thanks for sharing. I don’t actually like the taste of pumpkin and so am glad I can disguise it. I am trying pumpkin waffles tomorrow.
Pumpkin is really good for dogs with upset tummies.
Not sure why but it’s frequently recommended on dog forums and is sold tinned in pet shops.
As I have a largish squash and a dog that has a poorly tummy I think I will be giving this a go. He’s on mashed cooked sweet potatoes and scrambled egg at the moment!
Aww bless him. Hope he gets better soon.
That is a good idea, I like the idea of making pizza bases with it. We could make and freeze some too. I am trying to eat out of the freezer and we mostly are.
Thanks. Yes I made 2 spare pizzas and froze them
Thanks. Yes we made 2 extra pizzas and froze them