Recipe: How to make pumpkin purée

Recipe: How to make pumpkin purée

Many recipes that have pumpkin as a main ingredient, such as pumpkin muffins, cakes, pies and other delicious pumpkin-fare, require the pumpkin to be in a purée consistency... but how do you turn a tough, stringy pumpkin into this soft, creamy texture? The answer is quite simple: first you roast the pumpkin, then purée its flesh in a blender. So just grab a pumpkin and follow the simple instructions below then go on to create your favourite pumpkin recipes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pumpkin, cut in half, seeds and attached strings removed and set aside.

Note: You may store the seeds and strings in the fridge for a few days. Roast the seeds and shell them to consume.

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 205 C.
  2. Place the two pumpkin halves, cut side up, in a baking dish. Roast for about an hour or until very soft inside. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  3. Scrape up all the flesh inside the pumpkin with a spoon or icecream scoop. If there is a lot of thick flesh that is too hard to remove from the shell, then the pumpkin needs to roast longer.
  4. Put the pumpkin flesh in a blender and puree until smooth.
  5. Refrigerate immediately; this will last for a few days in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer, well-sealed. If you notice some water separation, simply drain it before using in a recipe.