Pumpkin, which is a decoration of autumn gardens and the main attribute of Halloween, will diversify the family menu with delicious and healthy dishes. A huge number of ways to prepare pumpkin allows you to get fortified drinks, delicate desserts, savory snacks, gourmet soups and roasts.
Due to the content of a large amount of vitamins, microelements, fiber, pectins and carbohydrates, pumpkin can be used not only in classical cooking, but also for the preparation of children's, medical and dietary food. Before preparing pumpkin dishes, the fruit is thoroughly washed, cut, seeds removed and peeled.
Baked pumpkin
Oven baked pumpkin can be used as a side dish for meat or fish dishes, as well as low-calorie desserts. Small fruits can be baked whole: cut off the top of the pumpkin in the form of a "cap", remove the seeds with a spoon, then fill the vegetable with grated cheese, pour cream and add spices. The pumpkin is covered with a cut top, placed in an oven heated to 180 degrees for 40-60 minutes. Serve hot on a deep plate.
A delicious dessert is made from pumpkin baked with bananas and apples. To prepare it, you will need 2 large apples, peeled, seeds and sliced, 2 bananas, cut into slices, and 500 g of pumpkin pulp. The ingredients are placed on a baking dish greased and sprinkled with breadcrumbs, sprinkled with cinnamon and granulated sugar on top, and placed in the oven. The pumpkin is baked at a temperature of 130 degrees for 20-30 minutes, poured with sour cream before serving.
Pumpkin juice with oranges
A fragrant fortified drink, suitable both for immediate consumption and for preservation for the winter, is prepared from one medium-sized pumpkin, 2-3 oranges, 1 tsp. citric acid and 250 g of sugar. Cut the pumpkin pulp into small pieces, add water, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
The finished pumpkin is cooled and mashed with a blender or metal sieve. Granulated sugar, citric acid and freshly squeezed orange juice are added to the grated pulp. The mixture is thoroughly stirred, brought to a boil again, served or poured into sterilized jars and covered with lids.
Pumpkin porridge
Any cereal can be used to prepare milk porridge: millet, semolina, rice, corn, etc. Pour about 500 g of pumpkin cut into small slices with milk or water, boil until soft and grind with a blender. If necessary, sort a glass of cereal, rinse thoroughly with running water, pour it into a saucepan with pumpkin, add salt, sugar, raisins to taste and cook over low heat until the cereal is fully cooked.
Millet porridge can be placed in an oven preheated to 150 degrees for a while and let it brew for 30 minutes.
