I wanted to challenge myself to create dishes for super cheap that can be quick and easy to make for anyone. Some of the grocery stores around here still have a few pumpkins, and I happened to have a few left over from going to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. I've even used butternut squash instead of pumpkin in that past.
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 medium Pie Pumpkin (or large Butternut Squash)
1 yellow onion, small diced
1 rib of celery, small diced
1 small carrot, peeled and small dice
1 can of Coconut Milk
1 tsp Curry Powder
2 tsp Sambal (chili paste)
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon Paprika
Garnish:
Cilantro
Smoked Paprika
Pepitas (recipe below)
Cooking Instructions:
Tools needs: Blender, Sauté Pan, 2 Baking Sheet Pans
Preheat oven to 350
Quarter your pumpkin. Scoop and save the pumpkin seeds to the side. We will touch on this in a minute.
Drizzle the pumpkin with oil and season with salt. Place in oven and bake until it's tender, this can take about 50 minutes. Once it is tender, pull from the oven and set aside to cool. While the pumpkin is cooking in the oven, let's cook the pumpkin seeds.
Wash and clean the seeds, I like using a strainer for this. Once clean, place them in a bowl and drizzle with oil and salt. Sprinkle the seeds on a baking sheet and roast till toasted, about 10 - 15 min. I did this while roasting off the pumpkin. Once you get that golden brown color take them out of the oven and place in a bowl. Season with salt and paprika, and set aside for later.
Now, in a sauté pan, heat up 2 Tablespoons of oil and sauté the onions, celery, and carrots until sweated and tender. Add the sambal, curry powder and water at this point. Simmer for 3 minutes and set it aside. Now let's turn our attention back to the pumpkin.
Once the pumpkin is cool, scoop out the flesh and place in a blender. Add the sautéed vegetables, coconut milk, and a pinch of salt and blend until smooth. Return back to pan to bring back up to tempature for serving.
Serve with a sprinkle of paprika, some of the pepitas, and a little bit if cilantro. Enjoy.
