Halloween Sussex 2022: Recipes for your leftover Halloween pumpkins

Half the pumpkins bought will be carved and the insides discarded, but meal kit service Gousto is encouraging carvers to use what they have in some seasonal recipes.

Halloween-inspired pumpkin pecan risotto with crispy sage

This perfect risotto combines pumpkin with cheese, black pepper and crispy sage leaves for a simple yet satisfying autumnal dinner.

Ingredients:

35g grated Italian hard cheese

1 whole pumpkin

1 Chinese rice wine sachet (30ml)

35g Italian hard cheese

1 brown onion

2 garlic cloves

1 bag of pecan nuts (25g)

11g veg stock mix

160g arborio rice

10g sage

1 soft cheese pot (50g)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ 425°F/ Gas 7. Peel the pumpkin and cut in half using a sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice one half into half-moons and chop the remaining half into small cubes.

Add the half-moons to one side of a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the cubes to a sheet of tin foil with 1 tbsp cold water and scrunch it up to form a sealed parcel. Put the tray in the oven for an initial 20-25 min or until the pumpkin is almost cooked through and beginning to turn golden

Whilst the pumpkin is roasting, boil a kettle. Peel and finely chop the brown onion. Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 min or until softened.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic. Dissolve the veg stock mix in 600ml boiled water. Once softened, add the arborio rice to the onion with the chopped garlic and Chinese rice wine and cook for 1 min. Add the stock a ladle at a time, stirring continuously, for 25-30 min or until all of the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Whilst the rice is cooking, peel the Italian hard cheese with a peeler until you end up with a pile of cheese shavings. Heat a separate, large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a generous drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the sage leaves and cook for 1 min or until crispy, then transfer to kitchen paper and set aside.

Once the pumpkin has had 20 min, add the pecans to the tray and return to the oven for 5 min further (or until toasted). Once done, remove the roasted pumpkin cubes from the tin foil parcel and mash them up with a fork to form a pumpkin purée.

Once the rice is almost cooked, stir the pumpkin purée and soft cheese through the risotto. Add the grated Italian hard cheese with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for a further 2-3 min or until the cheese has melted and the rice is cooked – this is your pumpkin risotto. Serve topped with the cheese shavings, roasted pumpkin, crispy sage leaves and toasted pecans. Season with a good grind of black pepper.

Pumpkin soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

3 cups of pumpkin/vegetable/chicken stock

500g pumpkin puree

A large knob of butter

1 chopped onion

2 chopped carrots

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1 cup of cream

½ tsp chopped thyme, salt and pepper

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the garlic, onion, carrots, thyme and a pinch of salt and cook for 5-8 minutes or until softened.

When cooked, transfer to a food processor and blitz together with the pumpkin puree until smooth, then return to the saucepan, add in the stock.

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat to very low and add the cream and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

Fancy a bit of baking? Make these delicious pumpkin cupcakes!

It’s not just vampires that get thirsty, use your pumpkin to make this tasty pumpkin punch.

Pumpkin skin crisps

Looking for a snack that’s a little different? Gousto likes to make sure nothing is wasted, and this recipe is a prime example. Munch and crunch on these delicious homemade crisps, a perfect film snack to enjoy with a classic Halloween flick:

Ingredients

A whole roasted pumpkin

Vegetable oil

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

Sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 130°C. Halve the roasted pumpkin and scrape the flesh off the skin, leaving two large, thin sheets of pumpkin skin.

Chop these into large crisp sized pieces, then add them to a bowl with a glug of vegetable oil, the paprika, garlic powder and sea salt and give everything a good mix.

Spread the seasoned pumpkin skin pieces in a single layer on a large baking tray and leave in the oven overnight to dehydrate and roast. Serve when crispy, with hummus or a similar dip.

Recipes from Gousto, the UK’s best value recipe box with 75 meals to choose from weekly and prices from £3.14. Visit Gousto.co.uk

READ MORE: