Halloween Pumpkin
It’s almost Halloween. We don’t celebrate Halloween on Cat Island, but we do eat pumpkin. Although it is not the pumpkin normally displayed in supermarkets all over America this time of year, but really a butternut squash that grows very well in the islands.
And although we don’t get kids running around asking for treats, we do get into the spirit when we receive pictures of our grandchildren via email or messages dressed like Spiderman, Disney princesses, pirates and witches.
The pumpkins are collected at the packing house in Smiths Bay, and it is a treat to go there and choose among the different sizes. Small round ones, big light green ones, some that look like water melons and some dark green beauties. The odd ruffled ones are not accepted at the packing house, so I got that one for a dollar.
And then I do the pumpkin. I make pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, roasted pumpkin and fried pumpkin with pasta. And pumpkin gnocchi. Enjoy these two pumpkin recipes!
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
2-3 lbs pumpkin
One apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks.
One can chicken broth
Some heavy cream – optional
Salt, pepper and sage
Roasted pumpkin seed
Method
- Bake the pumpkin the same way as the earlier recipe, cool, peel and mash.
- Put the mash in a pot and add chicken broth.
- Sauté the apple chunks until soft and add to the mash. Make it into soup with a handheld processor and add the spices. Taste. It is usually good just like that, but I like to put some heavy cream in the soup to make it even tastier. If it gets too heavy, add water or more broth.
- Serve in bowls and add roasted pumpkin seed on the top. I have tried to roast the seeds myself, but I have given up and use the store bought variety. Or, you can drizzle a little balsamic vinegar on the top.
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs pumpkin
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 2/3 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 eggs, whisked together
- Milk
- Salt, pepper, sage
- Cheese
Method
- Cut the pumpkin in large chunks, remove the seeds and put them in an oven at 350. Bake for half an hour or more, until they get soft. Remove and let cool.
- When it is cool, peel the slices and mash them in a bowl. Add the flour and the eggs, salt and pepper and the nutmeg and knead into a pliable dough.
- Put some salted water to a boil. dig out little chunks of the dough with a teaspoon and drop them into the boiling water. When they float to the top,they are ready.
- Put all the gnocchi in a baking dish, sprinkle with sage and top with cheese. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted and a little brown on the top.
- If you want to wait until they are cold, you can shake them around in a bowl of breadcrumbs/ panko and fry them up the next day. Maybe dip them in whisked egg first, so the breadcrumbs stay.
- I serve these gnocchi with some sauce. A cilantro pesto or a hot mango salsa. They can be eaten as a vegetarian dinner or as a side dish to ( why not) some turkey.
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Summary
Jacqueline Campaigne
When we moved to Cat Island, 16 years ago, I knew we had found our paradise. But even paradise has its glitches. For a foodie like me, the lack of fresh veggies and meat, the scarcity of fish and the really bad assortment of wines was a bit of a challenge. I had to learn to cook in a whole new way. How to make an interesting salad out of carrots and iceberg lettuce, for example. Not so easy. If any of my ideas can make a dent in the traditional way the cooks of Cat Island think and serve dinner, I think it would be a step in the right direction. I might not be able to convert anybody, but I can inspire at least some of them. If you are reading my blog from afar, perhaps you will visit my cat island kitchen. I would enjoy cooking for you!