11 Pumpkin Recipes for Fall
After my annual feet-stomping/bout of denial surrounding the end of Summer and the start of Fall, we are now a ways in to October, and with it -- PUMPKIN SEASON (maybe I would accept autumn’s arrival more easily if we simply referred to it as Pumpkin Season? Hmm). The end of summer is always a bit less bitter knowing that the time of year where I stock up on both cans of pumpkin puree* (for the American recipes) and pack my fridge with butternut squash and sugar pumpkin (more for the Italian recipes) is just around the corner. In October and through to November, you can usually find me drafting a long pumpkin-recipe-to-do list, and if you’re keeping count, the blog has been around now for six years – six autumns! – which means that we’ve acquired enough pumpkin recipes to fill a whole pumpkin patch, quite possibly.
Though I contemplated giving you a whole new pumpkin recipe to kick off October, I thought I’d be better off refreshing your memories with a round-up of some of my very favorite zucca (the Italian word is so much more fun to say) recipes from my years of blogging (a very delicious trip down memory lane, so to speak). Whether you prefer your pumpkin spiced with cinnamon and cloves and used in a baked good, or you prefer the more savory, butter and sage route, I’ve got you covered. Links to all recipes in the title of the dish.
*Not familiar?! In the U.S we go crazy for canned pumpkin, more specifically cooked, pureed pumpkin, preferably Libby's brand, packed and sealed for quick easy use in baked goods.
…pumpkin gone savory
Quite possibly one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever developed, this pumpkin lasagne (lasagne alla zucca) is spectacular – the sweetness of the squash is tempered by white wine and sage, and the whole thing is superbly cheesy with a surprise bite of prosciutto every so often to keep things interesting. Swoon.
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These gnocchi are feather-light – if they’d floated off my fork, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised -- just barely sweet and tinged with nutmeg, blissful when paired with melted butter (what isn’t!) and the herb equivalent of a-hug-on-a-bad-day sage. With a shower of Parmesan and a sprinkle of toasted walnuts for a little crunch, there are few things more satisfying.
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This is one of those dishes that manages to be nutritious but also delicious, packed with lots of sweet, vibrant squash and slowly cooked onions, their sweetness tempered with not one but two kinds of herbs -- sage and parsley -- plus a bit of aromatic garlic. Not to be underestimated here: the power of the cheese rind, which adds an extra nudge of flavor and depth to your soup (always, always, always save your cheese rinds! I can't stress this enough!) The croutons on the top make the whole dish, adding a little crunch, a little carb, and an extra hit of sage.
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Risotto is a needy dish, the equivalent of a fussy toddler who requires coddling and a bit of extra attention. It requires a cooking time of at least 30 minutes, during which broth is slowly added to the rice and stirred until completely absorbed. This process is certainly more complex compared to the quick boil time of pasta – but the slow stirring process is what releases the starch in the rice and gives the dish its signature richness, making the end result well worth the extra effort. Besides being a nice change of pace from pasta, risotto is also comfort food that is still fancy enough for company, and is extremely versatile -- once you have the basic recipe down you can add any other ingredients you want, as I did with this lovely Fall risotto made with pumpkin.
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Who said pancakes had to be sweet?! These savory cakes are fluffy and light and cheesy, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, slightly sweet thanks to the squash, drizzled with toasty nutty brown butter and cozy crispy sage (squash/pumpkin's soulmate). Eating your vegetables has never been easier.
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I could write a whole book about how good this galette is, but let me try and keep this short and sweet: the crust is super easy to work with, and the consistency is perfect, beyond flaky and buttery, while still managing to be sturdy enough to stand up the filling. Everyone knows that onions are at their best when caramelized and squash is happiest when roasted, and when you put these two veggies together in the aforementioned perfect crust, accompanied by a healthy dose of cheese and a sprinkle of sage, you have created a downright divine combination of ingredients.
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…pumpkin to satisfy the sweet tooth
First things first, because I know what you’re thinking: doughnuts are not at all complicated make -- really! Sure there are some steps involved, but it turns out that making and shaping doughnut dough is no harder than making and shaping the more familiar cookie dough. If you’re intimidated by a little frying, don’t be! It is really no harder than any other cooking method, promise (tips here). These doughnuts are rich and cake-y -- reminiscent of coffee cake -- and spiced just enough to let the pumpkin shine, scrumptious with a veil of shiny smooth cinnamon glaze over the top. They puffed up like magic when they hit the oil, were a gorgeous, sunset orange and are exactly what one wants to be fed for breakfast on a chilly Fall day.
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Like any good pumpkin bread this one has a good dose of warming spices -- four in total, I take my autumnal spices very seriously -- and a terrific trio of pumpkin, vegetable oil, and water keep the bread moist and give it a lovely consistency. The actual preparation is easy as pie -- here there is no need to plug in the electric beaters, separate eggs, or wait until that stick of butter comes to room temperature. Nope, this Pumpkin Bread is just a matter of measuring ingredients and whisking them together, meaning there is little standing between you and a spicy, cozy slice of Fall, perfect for breakfast, snack, or tea on a chilly day.
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Apart from being one of the easiest recipes to throw together, you'll find that these beauties taste like Fall, poured and baked in a muffin pan, soft and fluffy and filled with warming spices like cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg; they make for a cozy breakfast or a great afternoon pick-me-up, and the scent they fill your house with will make the most popular person on the fourth floor of your building (these are fantastically fragrant).
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There's no better way to start a Fall morning than with a pumpkin-y breakfast, and this French toast was indeed so very perfect on a rainy, cold, October morning. Here we have slices of white bread, dipped in to a sweet, cinnamon-y custard before being fried in butter and topped off with a generous dose of maple syrup. Yummmm.
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Among the most popular desserts I’ve ever baked (who doesn’t love cheesecake?!) this pumpkin cheesecake calls for four autumnal spices, all of which settle into the cake and intensify in the day or two after baking, as spices do; the sauce, which tastes exactly like pecan pie without the crust, a deeply brown sugar-y caramel loaded with crunchy pecans, so good that you'll wish you could swim in it or bathe in it or both; and the crust, made of toasty, buttery Biscoff cookies (the soulmate of a pumpkin cheesecake filling, I discovered) piled high up the sides of the cake, adding a wonderful crunchiness that contrasts with the perfectly smooth filling.
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