A No Waste Guide To Using All Parts of a Pumpkin
It’s pumpkin season and nothing is more festive for the holidays than this amazing and versatile and super nutritious vegetable. Do you try to use the whole pumpkin when you cook? If not, you may be surprised at how you can use every part of a pumpkin including the flowers, leaves, seeds, guts (stringy parts), flesh, and skin. Read on to learn what you can do with your pumpkins this season.
If you grow your own pumpkins, you can collect and eat the leaves and flowers. The flowers can be eaten raw and added to salads, smoothies, quick bread batters and more. The leaves should be cooked but can be used the same way you use spinach. However, most of us don’t grow our own pumpkins so access to the leaves and flowers is a bit of a bonus if you do. For those of us who buy our pumpkins, the following list can ensure your pumpkins don’t go to waste once you are done displaying them for Halloween.
1. Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of magnesium, protein, fiber, and healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and they also contain a range of additional nutrients including iron, zinc, calcium, B vitamins including riboflavin and folate, as well as beta-carotene. To roast the seeds, slice the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and separate the stringy parts from the seeds by hand then simply wash, season and roast. Click here for a step-by-step guide to roasting the seeds. One thing to note is that pumpkin seeds straight from your pumpkin are still in the shell so they won’t work for pumpkin seed butter (which is divine and easy to make BTW). If you have the patience and a few hours on your hands to shell them, then roast the shelled seeds and throw them in a high-speed blender and process until runny. Making pumpkin seed butter takes time and patience (about 20-30 minutes) stopping the blender to let it cool and to scrape down the sides but the results are definitely worth it. The longer you blend the runnier it gets. Yum!
2. Pumpkin guts (stringy parts): Those slimy stringy parts or pulp inside the pumpkin actually contain a lot of nutrients and can be used to make “pumpkin guts bread” and “pumpkin guts soup or stock.” Making the stock is really easy, simply separate the seeds from the guts then place the guts in a pot filled with water and boil. Add some vegetable scraps like celery and carrot and a bay leaf, peppercorns, and other seasonings of choice for a bit of flavor. Boil for about 30 minutes, strain and voila! Use the stock in your favorite soups and stews. You can even freeze it for later.
3. Pumpkin flesh: The flesh (part between the skin and stringy parts) is what most people are used to using in cooking. Some obvious uses include roasting cubes to serve with favorite recipes, making pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pudding, and pureeing the roasted pumpkin for use in pumpkin soup, baking, curries, hummus and more. Use can even use the flesh to make pumpkin juice which you might be familiar with if you are a fan of Harry Potter. For a roundup of unique additional ways to use the pumpkin flesh click here.
4. Pumpkin skin: Yep, you can even use the skin. After you’ve peeled it from your roasted pumpkin, don’t toss it. It can be roasted or dehydrated and make into some really tasty snacks including pumpkin crisps (sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive and bake for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees F), pumpkin chips (season to taste and dehydrate overnight at 115 degrees F or bake in the oven at the lowest setting with the door ajar until crisps), and roasted pumpkin skins South Indian style.
Once you have used as much of your pumpkin as you can, compost the remaining parts. Do you have a unique way you use pumpkin? If so let me know!