Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Even though we can get our hands on squash almost anytime, it’s special to cook with it in autumn and winter.
Something tells me I’m not the only one happy about cooking with pumpkin when the weather outside is frightful (yes, I started listening to festive music before Halloween is over).
I’m from the northeast of Romania and cooking with pumpkin is not something common (or at least it was not common in my family). Like most kids who learned English by watching American shows and cartoons, my dad had to carve me a pumpkin every year for Halloween. It did not occur to me to ask my mom to cook something with the flesh.
After I moved to Bucharest and afterwards to Dublin, I learned how to cook and bake with it. And boy, I love it so much! Squash is so versatile and it’s delicious in so many dishes. I don’t remember ever having a meal with pumpkin or butternut squash that I did not like.
In our kitchen, we use squash in curries, risotto or as a versatile cream for pasta or oat cakes.
I’m also in the process of creating my own version of pumpkin pie and I’m keeping it for a Christmas special.
Today I’m so excited to share with you my pumpkin cream sauce recipe! I’ve been making this one on repeat for a couple of weeks!
You can enjoy this sauce with:
pasta as a comforting dish
toast as pumpkin hummus
oat cakes as a snack when you’re cooking dinner
There are many reasons* we should be eating lots of pumpkin:
Rich sources of carotenes
Very good source of vitamin C and B1
Great source of B6 and niacin
Packed with antioxidants
*Source: Murray, M. et al. (2005) The Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods. Croydon: CPI Group.
Here’s my list of recipes that use pumpkin in lovely and creative ways:
Chilli Pepper Pumpkin with Asian Veg by BBC Good Food
Vegan Pumpkin Mac & Cheese by The Happy Pear
Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Basic Sauce
Instructions:
Turn on the oven to 200C. Line a tray with baking paper.
Put the coconut oil in a small bowl. Fill a bigger bowl with hot tap water and place the small bowl inside it making sure no water gets in the coconut oil.
While the coconut oil is melting, carefully peel your pumpkin, using a hand towel to hold it to make sure it does not slip on the kitchen floor.
Cut the pumpkin in half with a big knife. Scoop the seedy interior with a spoon (you can save the seeds to bake your own pumpkin seeds).
Cut the rest of the pumpkin in 2cm cubes.
Add the cubes to a bowl, followed by the melted coconut oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Add the spiced cubes to the lined tray.
Bake the pumpkin for 20-25min.
After baking, take the pumpkin from the oven and let it cool for a bit.
Add the baked pumpkin to a food processor or blender with the plant milk. Mix until everything is well combined. Add more milk if needed until the sauce has the consistency you desire.
Ingredients:
1 pumpkin or other winter squash, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cinnamon
Pinch of black pepper
100ml plant milk
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
Instructions:
Place the pumpkin basic sauce, garlic, smoked paprika and nutritional yeast or parmesan to a food processor.
Blitz until you have a thick and creamy sauce.
If desired, season it with more salt and pepper.
Ingredients:
2 cups basic sauce
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or parmesan
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Pasta of choice
Pumpkin Hummus
Instructions:
Place the pumpkin basic sauce, drained beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and chilli flakes (if using) to a food processor.
Blitz until you achieve a hummus-like consistency.
If desired, season it with more salt and pepper.
Ingredients:
1 cup basic sauce
400g can of beans (chickpeas, pinto, butter beans), drained
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove
Chilli flakes (optional)