Protect the Pumpkin! How to use up leftover Halloween Squash?

It’s that time of the year; pumpkin carving, trick or treating, scary movies and not so scary pumpkin spiced lattes…

But with this year’s spooky season coming to an end, the real fear factor will be the number of pumpkins that go to waste. According to a survey by environmental charity Hubbub, 39.9 million pumpkins will have been bought this Halloween, and of these, a whopping 22.2 million pumpkins will be left uneaten and go to waste. That’s £32.6 million worth of edible food!

Why?

Because many pumpkins insides are just tossed aside once they have been carved. Their role as the infamous lantern obscures their real goal, which is food! So, in order to combat food waste and help you rustle up some tasty treats, we’re here to share some of our favourite uses for this leftover Halloween veggie.

Spiced Pumpkin soup

A warming Spiced Pumpkin Soup with goats’ cheese, almonds, and apple, this comforting concoction is perfect for those chilly autumn days! For the soup you will need:

• 30g butter
• 500g pumpkin, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5L of veggie stock
• 40g crème fraiche

And for the garnish:

• 80g goats cheese, crumbled
• 1 apple, ideally green, cut into matchsticks
• 30g toasted flaked almonds

To create this liquid heaven just follow these simple steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pan, add the pumpkin and slowly cook for 5 minutes.  Add the onion, celery and garlic and continue to heat for another 10 minutes. This allows for the sweet flavour to come out.
• Add the cumin, followed by the stock and simmer for 20-25 mins until the pumpkin is soft. 
• Use a handheld mixer to blend until smooth and stir in the crème fraiche.
• Pour that soup in and chuck on your garnish, then enjoy!

Pumpkin and Pecan cake

Next up we have a lovely sweet treat for you – a moreish Pumpkin and Pecan Cake recipe which will leave you reaching for more.

For the sponge:

• 280g of pumpkin, grated
• 170ml of sunflower or veg oil
• 3 eggs
• 170g of caster sugar
• 185g of self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100g of pecan nuts, crushed (90g for cake, 10g for garnishing)

For the frosting:

• 75g of butter, softened
• 300g of cream cheese, full fat
• 200g of icing sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

This moist and delicious pumpkin cake is an easy make, just follow these steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
• Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar together in one bowl and the dry ingredients together in another bowl.
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir well before pouring the combined mixture to a lined loaf tin.
• Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and cooling fully on a wire rack.
• Make the frosting by creaming together the butter and cream cheese, until pale and creamy.
• Add the icing sugar in two stages and beat until smooth. Use the icing to cover all sides of the cake, apart from the bottom before scattering the extra pecans on top.

Some say it’s the best pumpkin dessert ever (well, Jordan, our Culinary Chef who created it does anyway!)

Bonfire Pumpkin Pie with Harissa

Throwing it back to a Higgidy Cookbook Classic. On November 5th, savour a home-cooked feast with our Bonfire Pumpkin Pie with Harissa. This dish is perfect for bonfire night celebrations and is a wonderful way to include a variety of delicious veggies in one meal. Tuck in after lighting a sparkler or two in the garden. Check out the recipe here in a previous blog.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Finally, toasting your pumpkin seeds is a simple but effective way to use up any leftover pumpkin. Scoop out, wash, and then pat dry. Mix with some oil, ground cumin and paprika then toast in the oven for 8-10 mins at 180c. Boom! You’ve got yourself a fantastic, versatile garnish. They go well with the pumpkin soup, on top of a green salad with feta, or even on top of some porridge as a granola alternative, yummy yummy!

In addition, if you’re simply sick of the sight of pumpkin at this point, you can always freeze any leftovers until inspiration strikes.

Please let us know if you try any of our recipes as we’d love to hear how you get on and see any photos. What’s your favourite use for leftover pumpkin?