27 Nov Thanksgiving recipes
Happy Thanksgivukkah! You might think I have had an early morning drink, but that is far from the truth. It is Thanksgivukkah on the 28th of November so tomorrow. This year, Thanksgiving coincides with the Jewish celebration Hanukkah. It is the first time since 1888 that the two religious celebrations have fallen on the same date. The overlap this year is because according to the Jewish calendar, this year is a leap year. This means, that an entire month is added to the Jewish calendar so most major Jewish celebrations have moved up a month. This special celebration of the two religious festivals has been named Thanksgivukkah. A few years ago when Christmas fell on the same day as Hannukkah, it was named Chrismukkah.
The other day I was given by my neighbour on the allotment a huge pumpkin. As my children are in teenager phase, turning it into a face didn’t seem appropriate so I decided to experiment in the kitchen and turn this pumpkin into some delicious food. A big pumpkin goes a long way!
Thanksgiving recipes with a twist
Pumpkin soup with coconut
A warming soup with a kick!
Ingredients for 4 pax
- 1 kg pumpkin
- spices: cumin, smoked paprika and coriander powder
- 1 pint of milk
- 1 pint of chicken stock
- 1 can of coconut milk
- Focaccia bread
How to make it
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees
Clean the pumpkin and cut it into big slices. To enhance the flavour it’s best to fry them first prior to putting them into the oven. Fry the pumpkins with a lot of olive oil in a pan and add a pinch of cumin and coriander powder and smoked paprika. When they have turned light brown, put them into the oven. Bake them until they are nice and soft. This should take about 30 min.
Mash the pumpkin and add the milk and the chicken stock. Bring to boiling point. Let is simmer for 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and blend it with a hand blender. Reduce the liquid for 5 minutes and season it. In the meantime warm up the Focaccia. Don’t forget to sprinkle the bread with a little bit of water to avoid getting it dry.
Savoury pumpkin pie with treacle bacon
What to do with leftover treacle bacon? If there is any left of course as it is rather delicious.
Ingredients
- 900 gr. clean pumpkin
- spices: cumin and coriander powder
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 100 gr. parmesan
- salt and pepper
- Fennel seeds
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Rind of 1 lemon
- 1 pack of ready made puff pastry
How to make it
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees for baking the pumpkin.
Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees for baking the pie.
Clean the pumpkin and cut it into big slices. To enhance the flavour it’s best to fry them first prior to putting them into the oven. Fry the pumpkins with a lot of olive oil in a pan and add a pinch of cumin and coriander powder and fennel seeds. When they have turned light brown, put them into the oven. Bake them until they are nice and soft. This should take about 30 min.
Whilst the pumpkin is baking; Take the puff pastry out of the fridge and cut the treacle bacon into small pieces and fry lightly until golden brown. Set aside.
Let the pumpkin cool down for 5 minutes. Smash it in a bowl with a fork as it is nice to keep a bit of texture. Add the eggs, the cream and finally the Parmesan. Add the lemon juice and rind. Mix well and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Roll out the pastry and place it over a round baking tray which has been buttered. ( Use a fork to make some small holes on the bottom to allow air to evaporate during baking). Don’t cut off the rest of the pastry until you have added the filling. Put a layer of the bacon on the bottom, hold some aside for adding it on the top. Add the rest of the bacon in the mixture. Pour the prepared mixture on the pastry and level it.
Bake off in 35 minutes. You can check if it is ready by putting a skewer in the centre. If it’s clean, then it’s ready.
This pie is multifunctional – serve it as:
1. an appetizer
2. for lunch with salad
3. as a side dish with meat
4. as a snack with pre-dinner drinks
Pumpkin muffins à la Cape Town
Inspired by the delicious savoury muffins from one of the shops in Houtbay, filled with feta, sun-dried tomato, bacon and spinach.
Ingredients
- 700 gr clean pumpkin
- spices: cumin and coriander powder and chilli flakes
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 90 gr bacon
- 90 gr diced feta
- Handful thorn spinach
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes cut into small piece
- 4 cups of flour
- 8 teaspoons of baking powder
- optional Parmesan
How to make it
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
Clean the pumpkin and cut it into big slices. To enhance the flavour it’s best to fry them first prior to putting them into the oven. Fry the pumpkins with a lot of olive oil in a pan and add a pinch of cumin and coriander powder. When they have turned light brown, put them into the oven and sprinkle with the chilli flakes. Bake them until they are nice and soft. This should take about 30 min.
Whilst the pumpkin is baking, bake the bacon nice until golden brown.
Whisk the oil and eggs together, then add the flour and baking powder ( put it through a stiff). Cut the pumpkin into small pieces ( same size as the Feta). Fold the Feta a pumpkin, sundried tomato and the spinach into the mixture. Transfer to a non-stick muffin tray or silicone tray or single silicone muffin cups and sprinkle with Parmesan ( optional) bake in the oven at 180C for 20-25 mins until the tops are just golden brown. Allow cooling before removing from the silicone moulds.
Delicious as a snack or to kick start the day.
Enjoy!
Gerla
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