Every year I grow a couple sugar pumpkins in my garden because I take great pride in making pumpkin from scratch for a pie or soup.
At Thanksgiving every year I make pumpkin pies, and it’s definitely easier to buy the pumpkin in a can, but making my own pumpkin purée from pumpkins I grew over the summer is just plain cool! At least it is in my book!!
I taught the students in my culinary class to make pumpkin purée from scratch. We went to a local organic pumpkin farm a few weeks before making pumpkin pies so that we could buy organic pumpkins.
We also bought large jack-o-lantern pumpkins to carve for Halloween.
There are different kinds of pumpkins, and smaller pumpkins, like sugar pumpkins are better for making pies. Sugar pumpkins are more sweet, flavorful and have smooth-textured flesh. If you want to learn more about pumpkins, I found this article from Kitchn.com about different kinds of pumpkins.
Since my garden space is small, I only grow a couple pumpkins, which is all I need to make pies. Here are a few photos at different stages of the pumpkins growing in my garden from last summer.
Once you make the purée, try my recipe for the pumpkin pie filling and pie crust.
Pumpkin Purée Recipe
Ingredients
- One medium sized sugar pumpkin
EQUIPMENT
- large knife
- steamer
- large pot with lid
- colander
- large spoon
- food processor with S blade
- 2 pie pans
Directions
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Cut pumpkin in half. Remove stem from pumpkin. Scoop out seeds using a large spoon and discard or roast later. Here’s Cindy’s recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds.
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Cut pumpkin into wedges.
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Place in a steamer, place a lid on the pot and steam about 20 minutes, until soft. Test with a fork.
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Remove from steamer to a baking sheet and let cool.
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Scoop pumpkin from skin, discard skin. Place into a colander. If pumpkin is very moist, press it with your hands through the colander, removing the excess water into the sink.
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Place pumpkin into a food processor and blend until it has a completely smooth consistency. If you don’t have a food processor, you could try blending it in a blender on a high speed.
Now you are ready to make a pie or cream of pumpkin soup. Such a beautiful purée!
