Autumn started a month ago… beautiful tree leaves spread carelessly on the streets and in the park alleys. Autumn also brings us the excitement of Halloween, eating and carving pumpkins.

My first memory of "pumpkin" was not the taste of the ingredient but the nickname my friend Sarah had given me during our translation studies. Some mornings I would hear a soft little voice in the stairwell whispering (with a subtle Irish accent) "What's up Pumpkin?”. I knew at that time that my day would be perfect…

Then, I fell in love with food and took the opportunity to cook this versatile squash in every way you could imagine.

Soups, pies, creamed in noodles, steamed or roasted in a bulgur salad. As a sucker for orange colored ingredients (this pigment stirs up a sensation of hunger – luckily chocolate has a dull brown color), pumpkin is probably one of my favorite…FRUIT! YES, you read it well! Belonging to the same family as cantaloupes and watermelons, pumpkins are fruit due to fact they have seeds 😊

Low in calories (20kcal/100g), pumpkins are full of water (+/- 90%), vitamin A, potassium, fibres and antioxidants. Flavor combinations with all types of squash are easy and always very healthy: turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, curry, paprika and coconut work well.

Being a winter squash, pumpkins’ season goes from September to March. Their little cousin, zucchini (courgette), is for example a summer squash, edible from May to September.

Pumpkins are also perfect fun for kids since you can carve or paint them! They are then called jack-o'-lanterns! Early jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips and potatoes by the Irish and Scottish and carried in pagan Celtic celebrations. When European settlers arrived in America, they continued the tradition with pumpkins.

I don't know about you, but all this talk makes me want to cook this orange globe! For the first recipes of Crowd Books, I chose to share a spiced pumpkin soup and a pumpkin-Oreo cheesecake - pastry being my first love ;)

If you have any questions or doubts about the recipe, don’t hesitate to contact me on WhatsApp: Sofie - 0472559180.

Enjoy!

COCO & SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP

INGREDIENTS for 6 ppl

1 pumpkin

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

250ml coconut cream

1 L water

1 bouillon cube

turmeric, fresh ginger, paprika

grape seed oil

salt, pepper

fresh parsley, popcorn, lemon zest

ROAST

1. Peel and cut the onions in 4.

2. Cut and remove the seeds from the pumpkin.

3. Roast the pumpkin, onion, garlic, ginger, parsley, oil in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C

4. Arrange in a casserole dish. Wet with

coconut cream and 1 litre of broth. Season with spices.

5. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook at medium heat for 30 minutes.

6. Mix.

ENJOY

7. Twist & crunch: Serve with popcorn, fresh parsley and lemon zest.

PUMPKIN OREO CHEESECAKE

INGREDIENTS for 10 parts

250g Oreo

70g melted butter

4 eggs

75g sugar

300g cream cheese and 200g Ricotta

200g roasted pumpkin purée

Juice of 1 lemon

150ml coconut cream

3 gelatine leaves

1. Break the Oreos into crumbs. Mix with melted butter.

2. Place the preparation into a 22cm diameter mold. Bake at 180°C for 15 min.

3. Place gelatin in cold water.

4. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar for 5 minutes.

5. Add Philadelphia and ricotta. Mix well.

6. Heat the cream and add the gelatin to melt. Add to mixture.

7. Add pumpkin purée and lemon juice. Mix well.

8. Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently stir in.

9. Fill in the pie shell. Put in the fridge for min 4 hours.

ENJOY

10. Serve with Oreo crumbs and a nice cup of tea.

David Garlot