It’s pumpkin season! Whether you’re drinking it in a latte or baking it into a pie, the orange gourds are in season. This post isn’t about the pumps of pumpkin flavoring or even pie pumpkins. When you’re carving pumpkins this year, I encourage you to save more than just the seeds to cook with after. I’m talking about the guts that are typically thrown out once the pumpkin carving is complete.
The guts are full of fiber and versatile. I took the latke route, which proved to be a learning curve in cooking for me. I’ve never had to walk away from developing a recipe, but this one got the best of me at first. As with any frustrating project, a solid final outcome makes it much more worth it, and in this case, much more tasty. In addition to getting the base of the latkes right, my roommate had the idea to do sweet latkes in addition to the savory ones I wanted to make. I liked the idea, but on top of getting the base right, I didn’t want to burn the sugar in the syrup while frying them.
I hope I haven’t scared you off as I promise the recipes below are delicious. Cooking with parts of the plant that aren’t typically used is challenging, even just cooking has its own challenges! Finding time to do it, planning out ingredients and timing different elements while you are cooking are all obstacles. Don’t let them prohibit you from trying, as I believe everyone can and should be a chef every once in awhile.
Seeds
Pumpkin seeds (enough to cover a cookie sheet)
2 large pinches of salt
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of white pepper
Rinse the rest of the guts off of the seeds and pat dry. Even spread them out on a cookie sheet until the sheet is covered. Drizzle melted butter and sprinkle the seasonings on before tossing to coat the seeds. Roast in a 300 degree oven for 55 minutes.
Pumpkin Latkes
2 cups of guts (squeezed)
1 egg
½ cup flour
½ large sweet potato or 1 small one
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
Canola oil for frying
Savory: 1 teaspoon dried sage
⅛ cup of Parmesan
Sweet: 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Maple syrup to finish
Squeeze as much water out of the guts as you can. I used a strainer and paper towels to do so. Grate 1 small sweet potato, or about half of a larger potato. Mix all ingredients together for the base. I split the base in half and then added the savory ingredients to one bowl and the sweet to the other. If you want to make just savory or just sweet, double the amount of extra ingredients to add to the base. Heat the oil on medium-high for frying. Scoop a large spoonful of the batter and lay into the frying pan. Make sure to lay the batter away from you to prevent oil from spraying at you. Flip after the down-facing side is golden brown and repeat for each side of the latkes. For the sweet latkes, I added a drizzle of bourbon barrel aged maple syrup on top to finish.
Drinking warm sage cider and mulled wine in a house full of friends was the perfect pumpkin carving atmosphere for me, and I’m looking forward to making a tradition out of it. With traditions in mind, I’m thinking of revamping Thanksgiving leftovers next month. Any suggestions or favorite side dishes? Enjoy the last of the leaves carving pumpkins with the people you care about and the crisp air before it becomes borderline unbearable.
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