the food : seasonal foods & market reports

December

Pumpkin

Choccy eggs at Easter, mince pies at Christmas, pumpkins at Halloween.........Pumkins only come to mind once a year as eerie, sinister-looking lanterns, synonymous with that most mischievous of festivities.
So why are pumpkins associated with halloween? Well originally an ancient festival, rooted in Celtic folklore, the custom began with a mean and clever man called Jack. Jack is said to have tricked the Devil into agreeing never to take his soul. When Jack died, he wasn't allowed into heaven and because of their agreement, the Devil wouldn't let him into hell either. The Devil sent Jack back to where he came from, tossing him a burning coal from the fires of hell to light his way. Jack put the coal in a hollowed-out turnip to make a lantern, and is said to be still wandering the earth today. Spooky Halloween was first celebrated by the British and Irish who lit bonfires and carved ghoulish faces onto turnips and put a burning lump of coal inside. This 'neep lantern' was a sign that you welcomed the spirits of your ancestors into your home. Irish immigrants took the 'neep lantern' custom to North America in the 1840s, but a shortage of turnips and the fact that pumpkins are easier to carve meant the 'neep-lantern' soon became today's 'jack-o'-lantern'. The Americans made the Jack O’Lantern an essential part of the Halloween season we now look forward to  (or not) each year. Leaving a glowing pumpkin on your doorstep or in your window on 31 October.
Although the British have been quick to take up trick-or-treating at Halloween, we have only in the last five or so years began to see the pumpkin’s redeeming culinary features. This hard-skinned, densely fleshed fruit (strictly speaking a berry) has a wonderful earthy taste but its magic lies in its ability to take on whatever flavours you throw at it.
Roasting the cubed flesh makes for a satisfying supper as does filling pasta with the richly flavoured pulp. The sweeter varieties are perfect pie-stuffers and most can be made into soups mash purees curries chutneys it’s excitingly versatile and its colour alone should just make you want to use it. Warm spices have a particular affinity with pumpkin, particularly cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Herbs such as sage and rosemary also make great marriages. In saying pumpkins, I don’t mean the oversized specimens that sit gurning at the greengrocer’s. Their wet flesh makes them lacking in the old flavour department, best left for the carving fest. For cooking, look out for smaller pumpkins and other winter squashes, such as the bright orange onion squash.
Pumpkins are actually a fruit coming from the same family as squash, gourds, cucumbers and melons, first cultivated in Central and South America more than 7000 years ago. The pumpkin is an autumn staple in many countries.
Pumpkin pie is mandatory at Thanksgiving in the United States, for instance. The Italians make it into sweet and sour dishes and risottos. In Mexico, a certain variety is cooked with local brown sugar for breakfast and ground pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, have been used for thousands of years as a way of thickening and flavouring dishes.The French like it in soups, gratin dishes,in tarts and in bread. In Argentina, meat is often cooked in hollowed-out pumpkins for a thick, hearty stew. New Zealanders regard the pumpkin as highly as the Irish regard the potato while in India, a popular variety called Kaddoo, or West Indian pumpkin, makes it into curries. In the Middle East, pumpkin is routinely stuffed with meat, rice and spices, and made into soups and preserves.
Pumpkins are a rich source of beta-carotene – this is what gives the pumpkin its deep orange colour. Beta-carotene is used by the body to make vitamin A. Pumpkins also contain calcium, iron, folate and vitamin C, they  are naturally low in salt and fat and 3 tablespoons of pumpkin will count as a portion of fruit and veg to help you towards your 5-a-day target.
its not only the flesh that’s good news Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, contain some iron and are high in unsaturated oils, which are good for the heart.
Rinse the scooped out seeds in water, add a small amount of oil, hot spices, Worcestershire or tamari or soy sauce, and bake on a tray. Give the seeds a stir as they bake but keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn they should puff up a little when ready and sound brittle when moved around. Pumpkin seeds make a great snack any time of day and you can add them to lunchboxes or sprinkle them on a salad, risotto, pasta or anything you fancy really.

There is a rare species of pumpkin, grown only in the Styria region, of Austria, it has skinless seeds that are made into pumpkin seed oil, renowned the world over for its sweet, nutty flavour, this dark green oil is particularly good in vinaigrette made with cider vinegar, drizzled on salads and made into a pesto, using pumpkin seeds in place of the traditional pine nuts. 

As well as farmers’ markets and some supermarkets, good-quality pumpkins can be bought at Asian and Caribbean greengrocers. Choose pumpkins that feel firm and dense and store them in a dry place. Check frequently for soft patches. That means past there prime.

Recipe: Pumpkin, walnut and ricotta zest pie