Here are some nice and tasty recipes for orange lovers: from the cucurbita of Marina di Chioggia, to the pumpkin Beretta Piacentina, the "Big Max", the butternut or the American pumpkin!
For an evening of autumn pumpkins, here's what you can prepare, in addition to the classic Jack-o'-lantern shaped cookies for the Halloween party.
Appetizer with marinated pumpkin
Ingredients for 4 people:
> 300 grams of pumpkin
> 3 tablespoons of apple vinegar
> 3 tablespoons of white wine
> 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
> half a teaspoon of ginger powder
> half a teaspoon of mustard
> little grated lemon peel
> a pinch of cinnamon
> balsamic vinegar
> 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
> fresh mint or parsley
> salt and pepper
Preparation : clean the pumpkin, cut it into very thin slices with the help of a mandolin, also eliminating the external crust.
Put the pumpkin slices in layers in a large bowl, alternating with the sauce obtained by mixing the above mentioned ingredients with the fresh parsley or mint leaves. Leave in the fridge overnight or at least in a couple of hours. Serve accompanying with tasty cheese, pecorino, castelmagno or similar.
Risotto With Pumpkin
A timeless classic, explained with a few little secrets.
Ingredients for 4 people:
> vegetable broth with onion, celery, a carrot and homemade nut
> 1 shallot
> pumpkin of Marina di Chioggia
> 8/9 pugnetti di riso
> half a glass of milk
> black pepper
Preparation: prepare the light vegetable broth and fry the shallot in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, add the Marina di Chioggia pumpkin cut into small cubes; add water and cook until the pumpkin begins to soften.
Add the rice and sauté and season with the pumpkin for a few minutes. Then pour the boiling broth and let the rice cook for the indicated time: for this type of risotto you can use a Carnaroli, an Arborio but also rice with smaller grains, such as Roma or the Original .
If necessary, add the boiling broth and season with salt. A few minutes before turning off the heat add the half glass of milk and black pepper and Grana cheese or Parmesan cheese at will. It must be very wave-like, that is soft, not at all dry.
Pumpkin and lentil sambar
Directly from India, a side dish with an exotic flavor to make even friends who love Indian or fusion cuisine happy.
Ingredients for 4 people:
> half-sized butternut or even American half pumpkin;
> 150 grams of peeled yellow mung beans
> 2 small tomatoes
> 2 finely chopped red onions
> 1 tablespoon of black mustard seeds
> 1 clove of minced garlic
> chopped fresh ginger
> 1 tablespoon of sambar powder
> 200 ml of tamarind water
> 1 tablespoon of asafoetida
> salt and oil
> 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped coriander.
Preparation : cook the mung beans for about half an hour, add the pumpkin cut into thin slices and the peeled tomatoes into small pieces and cook for another ten minutes, toast the mustard seeds in the oil and add garlic, onion and ginger by frying a couple of minutes; finish adding the sambar and tamarind.
Pour the mixture thus obtained into the pumpkin and beans, adjusting with salt, asafoetida and serving hot with the chopped fresh coriander. This dish can be served with white rice, other vegetables, and chapati or parotha, two types of Indian bread .
Remember not to throw away the precious and nutritious seeds: collect them, clean them and toast them under the grill of the oven for a few minutes, they will be excellent to accompany the appetizers, as a final ingredient of soups or to enrich the homemade bread. Not even the pumpkin is thrown away: the effect will be even more spectacular if you add it to the risotto!
