In the Kitchen: Three Autumn Inspired Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpin’ Pumpkin

In this edition of In the Kitchen, our foodie expert, Ifat shares three of our favourite fall recipes all revolving around the autumnal mascot, the great pumpkin.

With the cooler weather upon us and the kids settled into their routines, I find myself feeling stretched in many areas of my life. School and work have taken so much of my time lately.

My eldest is now in primary school and he gets homework everyday. On top of that, he comes home with bundles of notices to read about different things happening with the school, my child or upcoming events. I’ve found myself reading through these piles of papers while preparing lunch for him and making sure he eats it while it’s hot. My second child is in Kindergarten in the afternoon, and I’m often busy with preparing her snacks and keeping up to date with her school schedule. Then there’s my baby whom I’m still breastfeeding and finding moments to keep him busy and engaged!

In between all of this, I’m in the process of writing a book, working on new projects and building partnerships. Most of these meetings take place in the evening so I can be with the kids during the day.

The house is manic, my life is manic! But one of the things that keep me sane throughout is my love for creating delicious recipes in the kitchen. And this time of year is one of my favourites… pumpkin season. With American Thanksgiving just around the corner, here are three of my favourite pumpkin recipes that I will always make time for no matter how busy I am.

Roasted Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

2 cups of Pumpkin
1 1/2 cups Sweet Potato
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 medium sized Red Onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp of Coconut Oil
1 cup Coconut Milk
6 whole Garlic Cloves
½ tsp of Nutmeg
½ tsp of Thyme
½ tsp of Himalayan Pink Salt
1 ½ cups of Veggie or Chicken Stock
½ tsp of Black Pepper

Process

1. Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius
2. Put the pumpkin, sweet potato, garlic cloves and red onion on a baking tray and mix together with the coconut il.
3. Roast the veggies for about 20 minutes or until golden in colour.
4. Once golden, remove from the oven. Remove the skin from the sweet potato and then transfer all roasted veggies into a saucepan.
5. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stock, then stir in the black pepper, pink salt, nutmeg, thyme, coconut milk and ground coriander on medium heat.
6. Cook on low heat for about 20 more minutes gently stirring the soup.
7. Finally pour the soup into a high powered blender and blend into a smooth consistency.

Sweet Pumpkin Balls

Ingredients

2 Cups of pitted dates
1/2 Cup of Pecans
1/2 Cup of Walnuts
1/2 Cup of Pumpkin Puree (homemade by steaming in a rice cooker)
2 Tbsp of Chia Seeds
1 Tablespoon of Raw Honey or Maple Syrup
1 Tsp of Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice
1/2 Cup of Shredded Coconut

Process

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender well until a smooth consistency is achieved. First add in small batches of dates, and then the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place in fridge for two hours.
3. Make balls out of the left over ingredients by scooping 1/2 Tbsp portions.
4. Roll balls into the shredded coconut.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Ingredients

For the crust:

4 cups of almond flour
4 Tbsp of grass-fed butter (soft or melted)
2 eggs

For the filling:

1½ cup of pumpkin puree (steamed in a rice cooker)
1 small organic apple
3 eggs
¼ cup of maple syrup (Grade B)
2 1/2 tsp of Pumpkin Spice

Process

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the crust ingredients and mix together until it forms a dough.
3. Form 1-inch dough balls and press them into a mini cupcake pan, forming the crusts.
4. Put the mini cupcake tray into the fridge to set.
5. Chop and blend apples until it is smooth.
6. In another bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix gently until all the ingredients are well blended by hand.
7. Remove the pan from the fridge and fill the cups with the filling.
8. Bake for 20 minutes until crusts have a nice golden colour.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 mins before removing as crusts can break easily.

You can easily make this into a large pie, following the same instructions only making the dough and pressing into a pie dish. You will need to bake this longer, however (for about an hour on the same temperature), and cooling will also take a little longer. 

Enjoy these delightful pumpkin treats, mama!