A Plethora of Pumpkins

Pumpkin wasn’t a vegetable my mother cooked, and I therefore grew up associating the bright orange squash with Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving. Canadians carved scary faces on the pumpkins in the fall, then ate a piece of pie made with canned pumpkin, pie that I didn’t particularly care for. Like mince pie at Christmas, I ate my Thanksgiving dessert once a year, and once a year was enough! These Canadian rituals were my only exposure to pumpkin until I moved to Bequia, where I quickly learned how delicious it can be.

Not long after my arrival on the island Mac’s mother introduced me to pumpkin soup, not the insipid pumpkin soup served up by many uninspired restaurants, but real BEQUIA soup. Momma’s offering was    a hearty meal loaded with tender meat, coconut dumplings and ground provisions; that soup was utterly delicious, and that’s the day I realized that pumpkin could be used for something other than pie!

Pumpkin is extremely versatile, and over the years I have made many soups, casseroles and desserts with it. I used to buy large quantities when it was plentiful and make vast quantities of soup for the Pizzeria. The soup I made for the restaurant was a little on the “insipid” side, it was meant to be a starter as opposed to a meal, but an infusion of fresh ginger made the soup more interesting and my guests loved it. I froze the soup in portions that could be quickly reheated, adding a dash of cream and some chopped spring onion before serving.

Mac taught me how to make pumpkin mash, a tasty concoction our family loved. He sauteed onions and garlic in butter, then added cubed pumpkin and fresh ginger. He stirred often as the pumpkin cooked on low heat, adding more butter and salt if needed, then grated nutmeg into the mixture once it had melted down. This tasty pumpkin mash was often served alongside stewed green pigeon peas, and never failed to please.

Pumpkin fritters are also popular on Bequia, and can be served as either a vegetable or a dessert. To make savoury fritters I simply add an egg and some flour to my pumpkin mash, then spoon mounds onto hot butter in a frying pan. For sweet fritters I make pumpkin mash without the garlic and onions, adding some sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg along with flour. Once cooked, I dust the fritters with a bit of confectioner’s sugar, then serve them warm with a dollop of whipping cream.

Pumpkin bread dough, like the fritters, can be transformed into tasty loaves perfect for toasting and sandwiches, or sweetened to make a tea-time treat.  It can also replace bananas in any recipe for banana bread, resulting in delicious pumpkin bread or muffins. All it takes is a little imagination, and of course fresh pumpkin, to create delectable food with little effort and wonderful results.

Belonging to the squash family, pumpkin is rich in fibre as well as vitamins A and C and therefore is quite good for us. Pumpkins also grow easily and are simple to plant, making them a natural asset to home gardens on Bequia. The seeds are especially healthy, and once roasted with a drizzle of olive oil and natural sea salt they make a terrific snack.

 This year Bequia is enjoying a bumper season; there is a plethora of pumpkins on the sland that should not go to waste, hopefully everyone is enjoying hearty soups (not the insipid kind!), seeds, casseroles, pies, cakes, bread and fritters.

Pumpkin is a healthy food and versatile – don’t let it go to waste!