The pumpkin: suitable for every course

Press, 24 September 1982, Page 2

The pumpkin: suitable for every course

The versatile pumpkin is one of the few items which can claim inclusion in every course of a. meal.

Usually served as part of a roast dinner, pumpkin makes delicious thick soup, is savoury when stuffed, colourful in a souffle, and a smooth base for a rich ice-cream. In many countries the pumpkin is used only as cattle food. New Zealanders, too. underestimate the pumpkin’s uses — it is rarely served as a dessert.

, In the United States pumpkin pie is a übiquitous feature of Thanksgiving dinner. The spicy pie has many variations but traditionally is flavoured with cinnamon, ginger, and' nutmeg. 1 The pumpkin seems to have originated in' North America and with its relative the squash is a member of the gourd family and thus a fruit, not a vegetable. In Christchurch pumpkin grows readily and in the offseason pumpkins brought from other areas mean that it is available the year round. Varieties include the handsome steely gre” —

aandsome steely grey, crown, the butternut which can be buff-coloured or green, and the green-ribbed variety known to the Maori as kamo kamo or kumi kumi. The local season is now coming to an end. Supplies from Blenheim, Hawke’s Bay, and Dargaville will fill the gap until early next year when locally grown red-

skinned varieties again come on the market.

Buyers at Christchurch produce markets this week had plenty of pumpkins with the late season grey-skinned varieties the most abundant. In the shops, pumpkin prices ranged widely, depending on condition and type, but for about $1 a kilogram topquality pumpkin made economical buying. Other produce was plenti-

ful with a number of exotic imported lines making their appearance beside the freely available New Zealand citrus fruits. Rockmelon and coconuts, mangoes from the Cook Islands, pawpaws from Fiji. Australian pineapple, and Californian grapes were all for auction. Grapes were cheaper than in recent weeks and avocados dropped to $25 a tray, having fetched $35 to

$4O a fortnight ago.

Prices for citrus fruit remained steady with lemons, oranges, goldfruit. and tangelos all plentiful. The ortinique. a South American hybrid of the orange and mandarin, was available, as was the related ugliefruit which has an easy-peel skin. This week’s recipe SPICY PUMPKIN PIE I*2 cups cooked pumpkin 300 gm short pastry *2 cup brown sugar *'i cup sugar *-2 tsp salt *2 tsp each, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger *4 tsp allspice 2 eggs 2 tbs melted butter th tsp vanilla METHOD: Scoop seeds from a piece of pumpkin. Place on a baking dish, skin up, and bake at 180 deg C for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove the skin, press through a sieve, and measure. Roll out the pastry and line a 20cm pie plate. Mix the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and spices in a bowl. Beat the eggs lightly and add the butter and vanilla. Mix well with the pumpkin mixture and pour in to the lined pie plate. Bake at 230 deg C for lOmin, reduce the heat to 180 deg C and cook for 30 to 40min or until the centre is set. Serve hot or cold, for six people.