Recipe: Roasted Pie Pumpkin
It can be fun to experiment with scratch cooking and baking during the cooler weather months or just when we’re in the holiday spirit. Often, we may have the oven on for one recipe, making it easy to double up in the meantime to prepare another. A great recipe for doing just that is this roasted pie pumpkin! If you’ve never baked a pie pumpkin to make your own pumpkin puree, you’ll be surprised just how easy it is.
Often called sugar or pie pumpkins, you can typically find these in the grocery store produce section. Some stores actually set them out with the smaller decorative pumpkins, but make no mistake, they good for more than just looks! In appearance, they resemble the classic pumpkins that are usually chosen for carving, but a mini version. If you aren’t sure, just ask someone at the store to confirm you’re choosing the right one.
Once you’ve baked your pie pumpkin and made your puree, now it’s time to turn it into a tasty seasonal treat! Check out some of our Summerfield recipes, including one to put those seeds to good use:
Roasted Pie Pumpkin
Yield: Roughly 3-4 cups of fresh pumpkin puree
Ingredients
- 1 (2.5 lb) pie pumpkin/sugar pumpkin
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Pinch of sea salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Rinse the outside of the pumpkin and dry thoroughly. Place pumpkin on cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut pumpkin in half lengthwise. Then use a spoon or ice cream scoop to scrape out the seeds and string in the center.
- Brush the pumpkin flesh with oil, sprinkle with salt, and place flesh side down on the baking sheet. Pierce skin a few times with a fork or knife to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Place pumpkin on center oven rack and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the skin. Once flesh is tender, remove pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Once cool and easier to handle, scoop out the pumpkin flesh.
- If pureeing to use in recipes, transfer flesh to a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. If having trouble blending, add a little water (but not much or puree will be too thin).
- Store puree in the fridge for up to one week. If making in advance for holiday baking, it will last at least one month in the freezer.
Tip: If you enjoy pumpkin recipes and plan to do a lot of seasonal or holiday baking, grab a few pie pumpkins to bake at the same time. Going through this process once will give you lots of pumpkin puree to use or freeze to enjoy in the weeks and months ahead!
Recipe inspired by: How To Roast Pumpkin