A few years back, I cooked a fresh pumpkin for the first time. I cut the pumpkin open, scooped out the inside, and roasted the pumpkin in oven. It was fun and all, but it look A LOT of time and energy to do.
Not long after that, a friend taught me the "easy way" to cook a pumpkin. No oven or roasting required. I was hooked. This method takes 1/4 of the time it takes to roast a pumpkin the traditional way!
Here's how it's done:
STEP ONE: Purchase a pumpkin pie pumpkin. These are small ones in the grocery store. They have much more flavor and are easier to cook than the big guys you carve for Halloween.
STEP TWO: Keep the stem on and poke your pumpkin with a fork. Make sure you do this all over the pumpkin. This lets the steam out when you cook it. The more, the merrier.
Step Three: Place you pumpkin in the microwave for 15 minutes.
Step Four: Let it cool and cut it open. At this point, it should be REALLY easy to cut. Scoop out the seeds.
Step Five: The skin should separate easily from the flesh. Scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin with a spoon. Puree the flesh in a food processor.
When you are finished, it should be smooth and without visible chunks. Freeze it or use it in your favorite recipe that calls for pumpkin. We love this in pumpkin bread!
If you decide to use this in pumpkin pie, remember that canned pumpkin contains extra spices. You may need to spice your fresh pumpkin up a little to your taste.
I really love the taste of fresh pumpkin. If you are on the fence about pumpkin, try it fresh in your recipes. You maybe surprised .
Have you used fresh pumpkin? How do you prepare it?
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