Category: Vegan Pumpkin Dishes

by betsy

Vegan Thai Red Curry, Pumpkin and Coconut Milk Sauce with Fresh Peanut Butter-Roasted Pumpkin and Tofu Recipe

My Thanksgiving Day post is coming up, but–and I bet it is no different in your household–there is no time for carefully staging food photographs in the midst of the convivial holiday hubbub.  So, before the throngs gather today–and, in any event, with less going on in the kitchen–I hope to photograph the components of our meal.  I made one recent recipe and two brand new ones that received rave reviews, so I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.

In the meantime, though, I am excited to offer this Thai-inspired pumpkin dish.  If you follow The Platter, you know that I am all about fresh pumpkin this year, including in Asian preparations, like this one and my Vegan Miso-Roasted Pumpkin and Grilled Tofu over Udon Noodles which was featured on OneGreenPlanet.org.

Pumpkin is so agreeable to rubs, and this peanut butter riff is no exception.  Enjoy it with creamy white chunks of tofu over my silky, golden, and pleasantly spicy melange of red bell peppers, onions and chard in a coconut-red curry sauce thickened with pureed pumpkin.  Its subtle tang is courtesy of fresh lime juice and vegan fish sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

Fresh Peanut Butter-Roasted Pumpkin:

2 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce (sold as “vegetarian fish sauce” in Asian markets)

1 teaspoon prepared Thai red curry paste

1 1/4 pounds pumpkin (this weight is with seeds and pulp removed, but the skin still on) , peeled and cut into about 3/4 inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Oil a large metal baking dish and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, vegan fish sauce, and curry paste until smooth.  Add pumpkin and toss gently to coat.  Transfer to the prepared baking pan, spread out, place in the oven and roast for about 8 minutes.  Stir gently or flip chunks, and roast an additional 8 minutes or until lightly caramelized.  While pumpkin roasts, make sauce.  When pumpkin is finished cooking, remove the pan from the oven.  If sauce isn’t quite finished, cover pumpkin to keep warm.

Vegan Thai Pumpkin and Coconut Milk Curry Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 of a large onion, cut into 1/4-inch wide slivers

Pinch sea salt

1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch wide slivers and then cut in half crosswise

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups finely chopped Swiss chard–I use the food processor for this task (about 1 bunch with thick stems removed; you may use kale or spinach instead, but the chard was lovely at our farmer’s market recently)

2 tablespoons prepared red curry paste (feel free to adjust the amount to your taste)

1-15 ounce can coconut milk or lite coconut milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup vegan fish sauce

Juice of one lime

Sea salt to taste

Optional, but recommended:  1 tablespoon each finely chopped Thai basil and cilantro or to taste

Accompaniments: 12 ounces regular tofu cut into 1 inch chunks (baked, broiled or simply heated and kept warm until serving time); and 2 cups cooked Jasmine rice

Garnish: chopped peanuts,  sliced green onions, and optional lime wedges

In a large cast iron skillet or wok, heat olive oil over medium-high.  Add onion and a pinch of sea salt and saute, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until onion begins to soften.  Add bell peppers and continue sauteing for about 2-3 more minutes or until it begins to soften.  Add garlic and chard and saute for one to two  minutes or until chard is tender, but still bright green.  Add curry paste and saute, stirring, just until smooth and incorporated.  Add coconut milk and pumpkin puree, and cook until heated through.  Add fish sauce and lime juice, and stir to combine.  Check for seasoning, and add salt if necessary.  Stir in optional Thai basil and cilantro and remove from heat.  Serve sauce over cooked Jasmine rice topped with roasted pumpkin and tofu.  Garnish with chopped peanuts and sliced green onion.

 

For 150+ more specialties of the season, I hope you will check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook.

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by betsy

Vegan Silver Dollar Pumpkin-Espresso-Oatmeal Pancake-Fritters

Yield:  Approximately 8-10 silver dollar pancakes

Here in America, Thanksgiving approaches.  It is so many people’s favorite holiday, and for good reason.  Non-denominational and, in fact, not necessarily religious in any direct way, it tends to be a gracious gathering of friends and family who come together to share a traditional meal of fall favorites while giving thanks to anyone for anything they choose.

Pumpkin dishes typically take center stage on the menu, but I crave them before, during and after.  If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving late in the day, you might enjoy these pancake-fritters for breakfast; or if your clan breaks bread earlier in the day, try these treats the morning after.   Or, heck, go ahead and make them today!

I call them “pancake-fritters” because they are a hybrid, but not by design, at least initially.  Rather, the pleasant “stickiness” of the batter and the amount of sugar meant that my first batch, cooked as regular pancakes, had to be put down the disposal!  I discovered that they have to be small, and they have to be pan fried in a bit more oil than what pancakes require to prevent them from sticking to the skillet and scorching.

So don’t be tempted to make these as larger pancakes or use less oil or yours will meet the same fate as mine.  My second try is what you see pictured and well worth the failed experiment.   The resulting pancake-fritters are a little oilier than a pancake, like a fritter or even a fried cake doughnut, with a crispy exterior and a soft and tender interior.

Pumpkin pancakes are a dime a dozen, so while a half-cup of leftover pumpkin initiated the recipe, the desire for a twist on a classic resulted in the addition of oatmeal and espresso powder inspired by my Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal with a cup of coffee.   Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all-purpose)

1 cup old fashioned oats

4 tablespoon natural sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch sea salt

1/4 cup soymilk (I use unsweetened, but plain is fine)

2 teaspoons instant espresso

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional garnish: maple syrup plus a dab of vegan sour cream and a walnut piece per pancake

 

Preheat the oven to warm and line a plate with a double thickness of paper towel.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 7 dry ingredients and make a well in the center.  In a small bowl, whisk together soymilk and espresso powder to dissolve the latter.  Then whisk in pumpkin puree and vanilla.   Pour the wet ingredients into the well and whisk all together just until combined.  In a large cast iron skillet, heat about 1/8 inch of canola oil over medium-high.   Make pancakes-fritters, 4 at a time, using 1 rounded tablespoon of batter, gently smoothing the  top.  Cook for about 2 minutes per side, loosening each pancake from the bottom of the pan with a metal spatula after a minute or less of cooking, just enough time for the pancakes to be set enough to gently lift.  Reduce heat if cooking too fast.  Remove to the lined plate, cover with more paper towel, and keep warm in the oven while you continue with the remaining batter in the same manner.  Serve each garnished with maple syrup, a dollop of vegan sour cream and a walnut piece.

For 150+ additiona recipes perfect for this and every season, I invite you to check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

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by betsy

My Recipe for Vegan Miso-Roasted Pumpkin and Grilled Tofu Over Udon Noodles Is Published on OneGreenPlanet.org!

I was thrilled to come home today from a quick overnighter (yesterday was a school holiday) to North Carolina’s captivating Outer Banks to learn that the wonderful folks at One Green Planet had published my recipe for Vegan Miso-Roasted Pumpkin and Grilled Tofu over Udon Noodles.  Just click the recipe title to be taken directly to the recipe on their site.  Enjoy!

And, of course, you can find 150 more seasonal delights in:

The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

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by betsy

Vegan Grilled Pumpkin Pizza with Pumpkin and Pepita-Sage Pesto Spread, Pepita and Sage Pesto and Rosemary-Garlic Oil Recipe

Yield: 2 pizzas/8 servings (2 slices per serving)

The irresistibly adorable pumpkins at my favorite farm market inspired this pizza.  I’ve enjoyed it three or four times this week with my Vegan Caramelized Onion and Apple Pizza and am so sad there is no more.

As I’ve said before, homemade pizza dough is so quick and easy to make that there is scarcely any reason to purchase it, especially since it can be frozen.  Hands on prep time is just minutes, but it does take a couple of hours to rise.  So, if you are super pressed for time and favor a brand like Trader Joe’s frozen dough, then go for it.  If you choose the purchased route, I would definitely recommend a prepared dough as opposed to a prepared crust.

My dough of choice comes from my Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.  My recipe calls for a combination of self-rising and whole wheat flours.  However, for the pizza pictured, I didn’t have either, so I used all white whole wheat flour with some baking powder.  The only difference I found is that it makes a softer dough and, hence, requires additional flour.  The crust made this way also benefits especially from a couple of minutes in the oven before topping it and returning it to the oven to insure that the crust doesn’t become soggy.

Make the dough at least 3 hours before you plan to serve the pizza.

 

Blooming Platter Pizza Dough:

Yield: 2 approximate 8-inch crusts

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour (or 3/4 cup  plus 2 tablespoons white whole wheat or all purpose flour combined with 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and a scant 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt)

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

Note:  you may substitute all white whole wheat or all-purpose flour for both of the above.  However, you will need considerably more flour, added 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is smooth and elastic, but slightly sticky.

1 teaspoon “quick rise” yeast

1 teaspoon natural sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons tepid water

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil plus 1 teaspoon to oil the bowl

Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, stir to combine, and make a well in the center.  Add the water and 2 teaspoons olive oil to the well and stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a fork until fully incorporated.

Knead for 5 minutes with oiled hands or until the dough is smooth and elastic, but slightly sticky.  I knead it right in the bowl.  Do not over-knead.  Lift out the dough and pour the remaining teaspoon of olive oil into the bottom of the bowl and spread to coat the interior with your fingers.

Return the dough to the bowl, rolling it around on both sides to coat with the oil.  Cover the bowl loosely with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.  While the dough rises, prepare the other ingredients.

 

Next prepare Rosemary-Garlic Olive Oil:

1/4 cup olive oil (makes sure it is super flavorful)

1 5-inch stalk of fresh rosemary

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

Combine all ingredients in a small cup and set aside.

Before preparing topping, preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place two pizza stones (or two inverted baking sheets) into the oven and heat for 30 minutes.

 

Topping:

Approximately 1/4 cup Pumpkin and Pepita-Sage Pesto Spread (recipe follows)

Grilled Pumpkin (recipe follows)

1/2 cup Vegan Pepita and Sage Pesto

Optional garnish: fresh sage leaves or pineapple sage blossoms

 

Vegan Pumpkin Pepita-Sage Pesto Spread:

6 ounces Silken Firm tofu (you may you “extra firm” for a firmer end result)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup Vegan Pepita and Sage Pesto

1 large garlic clove

Pinch sea salt

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  You will have more than you need for this pizza.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Enjoy as a dip with fresh veggies, spread on bagels or sandwiches, tossed with pasta, or as a pizza sauce.

 

Grilled Pumpkin:

Approximately 3 pounds fresh pumpkin (this weight is seeded and with pulp removed, but with the skin on)

Remove the skin from pumpkin with a paring knife.  Cut pizza into bite size 1/3-inch thick slices.  Spray a grill pan with non-stick spray and preheat over medium-high.  Grill pumpkin, in two batches if necessary, for 2 to 3 minutes per side or unil tender with nice grill marks.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

 

To Assemble:

Lay two 10-inch sheets of aluminum foil, shiny side down, on a work surface.    Spray each sheet lightly with non-stick pray.  With hands lightly dusted with flour, divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball, and place one in the center of each piece of foil.

Beginning in the center of the ball and working your way to the edges, use your fingertips and palms to gently press the dough into a circle about 8 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving a slightly raised 1/4-inch wide rim.  Brush the entire surface of each very lightly with the Rosemary-Garlic Olive Oil; you will likely have some left over.  Lift each piece of foil one at a time, crust and all, holding it taught, and place on one of the baking stones.  Bake for 2 minutes.  Remove the stones from the oven and spread a very thin layer (about 2 to 3 tablespoons) of Pumpkin and Pepita-Sage Pesto Spread on each crust.  Divide the pumpkin evenly between the two crusts, arranging pieces in concentric rings.  Return the stones to the oven and cook for about 7 minutes, switching the position of the stones halfway through if pizzas seem to be cooking unevenly.  Remove the stones from the oven again and dot each with about half of the Pepita and Sage Pesto (1/4 cup each).  Return the stones to the oven and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes  or until the crusts are golden and the topping is hot.  Remove the stones form the oven, slide the pizzas, one at a time, onto a cutting board, and cut each into 8 wedges.  Serve immediately garnished with sage leaves or, if you’re lucky enough to grow this herb: ravishing pineapple sage blossoms.

Note: this pizza reheats beautifully on a pizza stone in a 350 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes.

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by betsy

VEgan Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal (it’s like bread pudding for breakfast or brunch!)

This recipe is a crowd-pleaser regardless of the season!  And I’m posting it now so you can make sure to have all ingredients on hand by the time the weekend arrives.

The first iteration of it, which I created for The Blooming Platter Cookbook, appears in the spring section of the Brunch chapter, for it was made to be topped with fresh berries.  When I tested the recipe in the summer of 2010, I served it topped with blueberries to my good friend Maggie Test (yes, that’s really her last name).  She proclaimed its texture to be perfect, like a bread pudding for breakfast (though there is no bread in the recipe, only healthy oatmeal).

So, for the weekend house party my husband hosted for my birthday last May, I made it as our Sunday “morning-after” brunch dish.  It was a huge hit with everyone and lent itself perfectly to people rising at different times, as servings can be popped into the microwave for reheating.

At the end of last week, the weather finally turned cool here in coastal Virginia and the leaves are beginning to turn right along with it.  So, I found myself craving a warm comfort-food type weekend breakfast, but nothing too heavy.  Baked oatmeal came immediately to mind.  But, with berries long out of season, I thought of pumpkin of which I can’t get enough this time of year.  I crave it in everything.

I used the recipe I created for my cookbook, simply reducing the cup of soy milk to 1/2 cup, and adding 1/2 cup pumpkin puree plus 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.  Then, instead of studding the top with berries, I used nuts.  Oh, and I topped the serving you see in the photo with some Vegan Pepita Caramel Sauce, but that’s just guilding the lily and, I have to admit, turns the dish into more of a dessert.

The only difficult aspects of this dish are 1) waiting 8 hours to bake it, and 2) not eating the entire recipe in one sitting!

Yield: 8 servings

6 ounces firm silken tofu
1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup natural sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
2 tablespoons natural sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coarse-chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Lightly grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan and set aside. Combine the tofu, soy milk, canola oil, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in the oatmeal. Spoon this mixture into the prepared pan, gently  smoothing the top. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining sugar and cinnamon, cover with foil, and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
2. When ready to bake, remove the dish from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Sprinkle the top surface of the oatmeal with nuts, and bake for 25 minutes or until just firm. Serve hot.  Cover the pan with foil if the nuts start browning too quickly.

Note: The oatmeal may be reheated by covering the baking dish with foil and placing it in a cold oven. Turn the oven temperature to 300ºF. and heat for about 20 minutes, or until warm.  The oatmeal may alternatively be reheated in the microwave.  Start with 30 seconds and add additional time as necessary.

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by betsy

Vegan Grilled Pumpkin with Kale, Walnut, and Rosemary Pesto

This time of year, Stoney’s, the farm market I frequent, is a sea of pumpkins in a rainbow of fall colors, each one more appealing than the next.  And their wondrous shapes, some of them fanciful and even comical, give each its own personality.

As far as cooking them goes, they are often too big for any knife I own to cut through them, and here in the burbs, wooded though they may be, we don’t own a hatchet.  So, imagine my delight when I was told they had  fresh raw pumpkin wedges–already seeded!–in their cooler.  It as that pumpkin that inspired this dish, but use whatever edible pumpkin your local purveyor recommends.

And, as for the pesto, I am always looking for ways to infuse my diet with additional leafy greens.  I’d never tried eating kale raw, but it is absolutely delicious when minced super-fine, as it is in this pesto.

 

Yield: 4 servings as a side dish

3 pounds of fresh, seeded and skinned pumpkin flesh cut into approximately 1 x 2-inch hunks

1 tablespoon olive oil (or a combination of olive oil and walnut oil)

Sea salt to taste

Vegan Kale, Walnut, and Rosemary Pesto (recipe follows)

Garnish: sprigs of fresh rosemary and/or walnuts, chopped or halved

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Pour oil into a large metal roasting pan, add pumpkin, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat, making sure that the bottom of the pan is coated with oil.  Roast pumpkin for 15-20 minutes, checking at 15, on one side, flip each piece and repeat.  Use a spatula to loosen pumpkin from pan at about the 10-minute mark if necessary.  Pumpkin should be lightly caramelized on two sides.  Add a little bit  more oil if pumpkin appears to be sticking, but avoid too much, as the pumpkin will steam instead of roasting.  Serve pumpkin dolloped or drizzled with Vegan Kale, Walnut, and Rosemary Pesto, and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs and/or walnuts.

Vegan Kale, Walnut, and Rosemary Pesto:

1 cup fairly firmly packed torn kale leaves, thick or tough stems removed

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 large garlic clove

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Juice and zest of 1/2 of a medium lemon

1 to 2 teaspoons maple syrup

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 /2 cup or more olive oil (up to about 3/4 cup or so)

Place kale in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped.  Add remaining ingredients, except olive oil, and pulse until kale is minced and walnuts are very finely chopped.  With motor running, drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.  Adjust seasoning, citrus and sweetness if necessary.  The pesto is equally good whether dolloped or drizzled over pumpkin hunks.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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by betsy

Blooming Platter Cookbook Giveaway AND Vegan Pumpkin Pie Espresso (with REAL pumpkin puree)

First, don’t miss my cookbook giveaway by going here.  Deadline is next weekend.

And, second, it is Day 3 of Vegan MoFo and, Starbucks, you know I love ‘ya, but you can’t touch this!…

In recognition of this season of vegan eating and drinking, it is my pleasure to offer you my brand new breakfast beverage that is quick enough for a hurried weekday morning.  But it’s also perfect for a weekend morning when the first nip of fall is in the air.

 

As a pre-vegan child, I was never much of a breakfast eater, especially on weekdays.  Getting out the door to school–which I actually loved–was enough of a challenge.  So, my nourishment of choice was Carnation Instant Breakfast.  Always Chocolate.  Remember those?  It was (and I guess still is?) a vitamin and mineral-fortified powdered mixture that is whisked into milk.

Turns out that the most important meal of the day (though there is now some debate about that) is still not my favorite on weekdays.  On the way to school, now as an art teacher, I whip into Starbucks and grab a venti Green Tea Soy Frappuccino to go–hold the classic syrup and, of course, the whip–in one of their insulated travel cups.   (An aside: my neighbor, Joe Pitt,  who “tricks out” high-end custom motorcycles is making a bracket so that he can attach a cup holder to my Vespa!)

On weekends, though, I love to make, especially, pancakes a zillion ways, but also French toast and other fruit pastry type dishes (you’ll find many on this blog and more in my cookbook.)

However, after one of my favorite SB baristas told me about an apple cider and soy concoction, I decided to try to make one at home.  It was a miserable failure.  The soymilk curdled the apple.  I’ll have to find out her secret.

In the meantime, still craving a warm and comforting beverage of some sort–and with some pumpkin puree on hand–I created Pumpkin Pie Espresso which I hope might become a staple in your home. It’s quick, delicious, nutritious, fragrant, and super-satisfying.  The real pumpkin puree lends just the right of body so that it is still very sip-able, but with a lusciousness about it.

Minnie in the Morning--when food is involved, Minnie is never very far away!

Yield: 1 1/2 cups (that’s a single serving for me!)

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Sweetener of your choice: agave or maple syrup, natural sugar, Stevia, Splenda (eek!), etc.

Pumpkin pie spice, to taste (or a combination of small pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves–go lighter still on the cloves–etc.)

1 1/4 cups unsweetened, plain or vanilla soymilk

1 rounded teaspoon of instant espresso (about 1 1/8-1 1/4 teaspoons)

1 cinnamon stick

Saucer garnish: a star anise pod

Optional: Rosemary-Caramel Sauce to drizzle (I love the rosemary, but if that sounds odd to you, just follow the recipe but omit the rosemary)

In a microwave safe 2-cup measure or a 1-quart saucepan, whisk together pumpkin puree, sweetener and pumpkin pie spice to taste.  When you have it just right, whisk in the soymilk and espresso powder.  Drop in the cinnamon stick and either microwave for about 2 minutes on high–watch closely so it doesn’t spill over–or simmer for approximately the same amount of time over medium to medium-high heat.  Remove the cinnamon stick to a mug and then pour in the pumpkin-espresso mixture.  Serve with a star anise on the saucer.  [I love the way these look–so organic and autumnal, but they aren’t to be eaten, so when I’m finished, I just pop it back into the jar (with clean hands) and use it again.]

To make this beverage ultra-decadent, serve it with a caramel drizzle.  Mine isn’t formulated to float on top like Starbucks is, but mine also isn’t dairy!  And since it sinks, it adds flavor, but it’s also about the overall presentation.  A little bowl of caramel sauce and a pretty silver spoon just looks so inviting sitting on the table.

 

For more than 150 additional mouthwatering recipes to celebrate all year long, I invite you to check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

 

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by betsy

Vegan Turks Turban Squash with Pepita and Sage Pesto

Photo credit: TheKitchn.com

Yield: 4 servings

They’re so beautiful…who knew you could eat them?!

I have always thought that Turks Turban Squash–called Mexican Hat Pumpkins by some–were strictly decorative.  Their charming form covered by skin that is truly a fiesta–or Turkish bazaar–of color and pattern has always made me smile.

Imagine my smile when someone at my farm market told me on Friday that they are not only edible but really scrumptious.  An elderly customer had just been in touting the benefits of roasting these beauties.  Convinced, I chose a smallish one just in case things didn’t go so well and drove home wondering if I had a knife sharp enough to cut through it.

Turns out that I would have needed a hatchet to hack through it’s tough exterior and an interior that wasn’t much softer.  So, I managed to cut off and discard its top knot which housed mostly seeds and pulp, pierced the body it a few times, and then roasted it at 450 for 30 minutes.  After I let it cool just enough to handle, I cut the base into about 2 x 2-inch chunks and easily removed the skin with a paring knife.

Then I roasted it again in a little olive oil and sea salt for 20 minutes, turning after 10.  Wow…what a beautiful golden crust developed!  And finally, I dressed it with a tiny bit more olive oil mixed with a drizzle of walnut oil and balsamic vinegar.

It is delicious like that–with a flavor and texture that is a cross between a pumpkin and a potato.  But I can ‘t leave well enough alone, and you’ll be glad I didn’t…

I guess because of the name Mexican Hat, I started thinking of Pepitas and wondering if I could make a pesto with them.  And because I love butternut squash ravioli (vegan) with sage butter–and because I just generally love sage in the fall–I decided to add a bit of it from our garden.  As I developed the pesto, I ended up adding a pinch of nutmeg–which I love in the aforementioned ravioli–and a bit of chipotle chili powder as a nod in the direction of Mexico.

Thinking the mixture needed a hint of sweetness, I added a dribble of maple syrup, and then thinking it needed a pop of bright acidity, I folded in a squeeze of lime juice.  And I made sure to add exactly the right amount of olive oil to yield a pesto that would drizzle and not just dab.

I am completely excited to share with you the results that will be on my fall table from now on.

1 Turks Turban squash about 8 inches in diameter, top knot removed and discarded

2 scant tablespoons olive oil, divided in half

1 teaspoon walnut oil (or more olive oil)

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Sea salt to taste

Pepita and Sage Pesto (recipe follows)

Optional garnish: a few roasted and salted Pepitas and sprigs of fresh sage

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Oil a metal roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Pierce the squash all over with a sharp knife, place it in the pan, and roast it, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and allow the squash to sit until cool enough to handle.  Then remove and discard the seeds and pulp and cut the squash into chunks, approximately 2 x 2-inches in diameter or just slightly larger.  Remove the skin with a paring knife and discard.

Return the oven to 450 degrees if you turned it off, and place the squash chunks into the roasting pan.  Drizzle them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat.  Roast for 10 minutes, turn each chunk, and roast for another 10 minutes or until a beautiful golden crust develops where the squash has been in contact with the pan and the flesh is tender, but not mushy.    When the squash is tender and golden, remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the squash with walnut oil and balsamic vinegar, toss very gently, and then remove the squash to a serving platter. Drizzle the golden chunks with Pesto, garnish with Pepitas and/or fresh sage sprigs, and serve immediately, passing a small bowl of any remaining pesto.

While squash roasts, make Pesto.

 

Vegan Pepita and Sage Pesto:

1/2 cup roasted and lightly salted Pepitas (I buy Trader Joe’s brand)

1 medium clove of garlic, peeled

8 fresh sage leaves

1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (freshly grated is especially nice)

1/8 teaspoon of chipotle chile powder

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon maple syrup

juice of 1/2 of a small lime

Sea salt to taste (I like a “goodly” amount in this)

Place Pepitas, garlic, sage, nutmeg and chili powder in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until a coarse paste forms.  With the motor running, add olive oil in a steady stream until the mixture is pulpy-smooth.  Turn off the motor.  Add maple syrup, lime, and salt to taste, and pulse just two or three times to combine.  Adjust seasoning if desired, and use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator.  Allow to come to room temperature or heat slightly before serving.

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by betsy

Blooming Platter Recipe Featured on Maple Syrup World’s Website

I was so honored yesterday, when Richard Potvin of Maple Syrup World contacted me about featuring my Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes with Vegan Bourbon-Pecan Maple Syrup on their website. See the post and visit their site by clicking here. And, if you have recipes featuring maple syrup to share, he’s looking for more.

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