WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS? Pumpkins are native to Mexico, and are used both for their seeds and for their sweet, bright orange flesh. We set out to create a side dish that made pumpkin the star ingredient. Sugar pumpkins are best for cooking; they are more flavorful than larger pumpkins, and their drier, denser flesh cooks more quickly. We started by cutting a pumpkin in half; leaving the skin on made it easy to scoop out the softened flesh after cooking. We tried roasting the pumpkin halves cut side up, but the flesh dried out too quickly. Instead, we roasted the pumpkin halves cut side down to allow them to steam slightly, then turned the pumpkin over for the last 30 minutes of roasting to eliminate extra moisture and provide deep, caramelized flavor. Our next move was to puree the flesh in a food processor, but the silky smooth texture reminded tasters of baby food. Instead, we decided to go with a more rustic-textured mash, which we achieved by simply mashing the pumpkin with a potato masher. A simple combination of butter, brown sugar, and warm spices rounded out the flavor of the dish.
SERVES: 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 (4-to 4½-pound) sugar pumpkin, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- Salt and pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place pumpkin halves cut side down on the sheet. Roast until the flesh can be easily pierced with a skewer, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Flip the pumpkin and continue to roast for 30 minutes. Let the pumpkin cool slightly, then scoop the flesh into a bowl, discarding the skins. Mash the pumpkin with a potato masher until almost smooth.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and mashed pumpkin and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is heated through, about 2 minutes. Adjust the consistency with water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
TIP:
PREPARING A PUMPKIN FOR ROASTING
- Remove stem; set pumpkin stemmed side down on damp dish towel to hold in place.
- Position chef’s knife on top of pumpkin and strike with mallet to drive it into pumpkin. Continue to hit knife with mallet until it cuts through pumpkin.
