Good Mood Academy

Good mood food: PUMPKIN

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28 Nov
VEGETABLE OF THE MONTH

A SUNNY DETAIL IN THE NOVEMBER KITCHEN

We at CUCA, as Good Mood Colour specialists, keep looking for colourful inspirations all year round. In autumn, we intuitively search for colours that will compensate for the severe lack of sun. We assure you that few vegetables like pumpkin can add sunny and orange accents to our kitchen on a grey November day. It makes a difficult month a little more bearable and our mood - just a bit better. Pumpkins are undeniably pleasing to the eye. From the outside, they take on amazing forms and colours, and some of them become extraordinary giants. Inside they contain orangey aromatic pulp. The largest specimen so far, weighing over a ton!, was bred by an American farmer from Minnesota. We wonder what a dish he made with it...?

dynia halloween
dynia hokkaido
A GOOD RELATIONSHIP

REQUIRES A BIT OF COMMITMENT

We are also aware of the fact that the relationship with the pumpkin (as with any other relationship!) depends on the level of knowledge and understanding. Pumpkin can sometimes be associated with a bland taste or difficult processing. Often we have no idea how to prepare a pumpkin dish. Maybe because it is still difficult for us to understand the differences between its varieties? They may seem small, but they significantly influence the taste and consistency of the dishes we conjure up in our kitchens. So, taking advantage of this wonderful pumpkin season, we would like to tell you a little more about its properties, varieties and methods of preparation. We also assure you, that CUCA knives, peelers and boards are great help when experimenting with pumpkins, making the job easy and enjoyable.

AMAZING DIVERSITY

MANY VARIETIES, MANY FLAVOURS

Our basket contains three varieties of pumpkin: an oblong butternut squash with light skin, a round one and usually smaller than others, an intense orange colour with red accents - a Hokkaido pumpkin, and a green muscat. Butternut squash is easy to work with and softer than two others. It has a delicate consistency and sweet taste. Thanks to this, it also tastes good in desserts. It contains a lot of liquid. Its opposite is the floury and compact Hokkaido. They share with the butternut squash the easiness of cutting and quick softening. Interestingly, it is the only pumpkin that does not require peeling before putting into the oven. Yes: its skin softens and is edible! It saves us a lot of time. It is great as an addition to all kinds of curries or as a thickening agent for soups. We also love the muscat pumpkins. They have an unusual colour and a sweet, melon scent. They work great in desserts, jams and soups. We can also use it to make an addition to cocoa or latte, known as pumpkin spice ones. 

A NATURAL DIET SUPPLEMENT

SOURCE OF VITAMIN A

The biggest advantage of pumpkin is the huge amount of vitamin A. It is found only in a small amount of vegetables, but here we have a lot of it. In addition, pumpkins contain iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium. It also contains trace amounts of selenium, copper, manganese and zinc. It has a positive effect on heart function, immunity, skin condition and our eyesight. When talking about this vegetable, we must not forget about its seeds. Pumpkin seeds are full of magnesium, zinc (important!) and fibre, providing us with many nutrients. Let's munch them for our healthy being, or like we do at CUCA - let's add roasted ones to a creamy soup! The recipe for a wonderful Thai-style cream soup is just a little below.

GOOD MOOD RECIPE

THAI-STYLE PUMPKIN SOUP

ACCESSORIES: favourite boards, knives, vegetable peelers and citrus juicers by CUCA; baking paper, baking tray (or heat-resistant dish)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup of butternut squash or muscat puree (contains a lot of water)
  • 1 cup of Hokkaido pumpkin puree (floury, for thickening)
  • 1 ripe tomato
  • 1 onion
  • a 2/3-centimetre piece of ginger
  • 1 - 2 cloves of garlic
  • 8 - 10 kaffir lime leaves (Thai variety of Citrus hystrix lime), dried (available in a store with oriental products) OR a handful of dried lemongrass
  • a pinch of chilli flakes of black pepper (not necessarily, for those who want!)
  • coconut, sunflower or other favourite oil
  • 1 can of coconut milk / 400 ml
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice

Optional: salt to taste, a few dried mushrooms - to enhance the umami taste

To serve: roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or roasted almond flakes.

PREPARATION:

  1. Pumpkin purée is pumpkin baked in the oven, then blended into a smooth mousse. To prepare it, simply preheat the oven to 200 C degrees, cut the pumpkin with a large CUCA knife, cut it into halves or quarters, remove the seeds (or leave it to eat later), and if it is not Hokkaido, peel it. Then, using your favourite coloured knives, cut them into smaller pieces. Place on a baking tray lined with paper and place in a hot oven. Bake until soft, i.e. for less than an hour, and finally mix. The purée prepared in this way can be frozen (we recommend: put some pumpkin purée into plastic bags, weigh and then label them) or use it immediately for soups, noodles, cakes and desserts. And, of course, the pumpkin spice!
  2. Peel the ginger and cut into thick slices, cut the tomato into quarters, and peel the garlic cloves. Heat the oil at the bottom of a deep wok (or pot) and add kaffir leaves/lemongrass, peeled onion in halves, chilli flakes, dried mushrooms (if using), ginger and garlic. Fry for about 1 minute, then add the tomato, stir and pour into the coconut milk. Cover the wok and cook over low heat, avoiding sudden boiling, for fifteen minutes.
  3. After this time, use a CUCA strainer to drain the hard spices, and rub the tomato, garlic cloves and onion back into the wok.
  4. Add 2 glasses of pumpkin purée and stir.
  5. Still stirring from time to time, heat the soup for another 15 minutes, and finally season with salt or more soy sauce to taste. If necessary, add water to the desired creamy consistency.
  6. ​Serve with your favorite roasted seeds or almond flakes. If you need a little bit of magic, serve it with the color-changing spoons MAGIC SPOON HOT.
     

    Enjoy!

pieczona dynia
pumpkin soup

Did you like our post? Have you tried the recipe? Don't keep it just for yourself and kindly share it with others on your facourite social media. CUCA assures you that pumpkin tastes best when enjoyed with friends!

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