There are many ways to roast and flavor a pumpkin. I've probably roasted half a dozen this season alone! Sometimes with garlic, sometimes with onions, sometimes with cranberries. You can go in whatever flavor profile you want with either sweet or savory combinations. Today, this savory pumpkin purée combines shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Shallots are one of the most under-utilized ingredients that is readily available. They're in almost every grocery store next to the garlic and just around the corner from the onions. A lot of the time people think that they're just underripe or miniature onions. But they're distinctly their own plant.
Shallots taste like a cross between a red onion and garlic, but have a much more robust flavor. You need a fraction of what you would with an actual onion. They're almost a bit sweeter and don't quite have that same abrasive bite! This makes them pair perfectly with pumpkins. The delicate flavors compliment, rather than overpower the flavor.
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What to Make with Pumpkin Purée
Shallots and garlic are a great addition to pumpkin purée. I do this with almost all of my pumpkin recipes. It balances out the sweetness of the pumpkin and plays up the savory flavor profile. I used this particular recipe predominately in lentils this holiday season. When you've pre-seasoned the pumpkin purée, then you don't have to add too much more to the dish! It's already packed with enough flavor that it takes the extra step of seasoning after the fact out of the equation.
It's not something that you'd want to do if you were going to make sweet meals, like a Pumpkin Cheesecake. But, if you know that you're going to make savory dishes? I highly recommend adding in a few extra flavors during the puréeing process, so that they permeate more consistently throughout the meal.
This savory pumpkin purée combines shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper. It's a quick and easy recipe and one of my go-tos every fall whenever pumpkins are available! The shallots and garlic compliment and balance out the sweetness of pumpkins and are perfect in any savory dish.
Using a spoon, scoop out the innards to remove all of the seeds and stringy pieces. Reserve the seeds if you want to roast them for a fun snack.The "guts" are still edible, but can be texturally unpleasant. I will usually keep them to puree into soup or pet food. However, most people will discard them! Just make sure not to toss any seeds!
Once you've cut, peeled, and removed the innards from the pumpkin, wrap in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.I do this by getting a piece of foil long enough to wrap around the entire pumpkin. Place pumpkin face down in the center of the foil. Then, wrap the edges of the foil around to cover the pumpkin completely.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on size. Make sure to flip halfway through so that the pumpkin sides are face up.This is the trickiest part about roasting pumpkins: the size of the pumpkin can drastically increase the cook time. You’ll know that they’re done when the flesh is soft and you can poke it with a fork without any resistance. It will vaguely resemble the consistency of potatoes before you mash them. The best thing to do is to cook them for 45 minutes and then check them every 5-10 minutes after that until they’re cooked throughout.
Let cool to the touch.
Remove skin and add pumpkin, garlic, shallots, salt, and pepper (all of the ingredients) to the food processor. It should peel off easily. If you like, you can get every bit of pumpkin out of it by scooping the remaining pumpkin out with a spoon.
Puree until smooth, about 30-60 seconds. Making sure to scrape down the sides occasionally.If you aren’t using a food processor, you can use a large mixing bowl and a fork, potato masher, or mixer to achieve a similar effect. I prefer a food processor, though, because it removes the stringiness that I find texturally unpleasant.
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