Pumpkins can not only provide spooky decoration for Halloween, but also contain healthy compounds such as unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants.

 

Pumpkin Pie

An oven is preheated to 180 °C. 3 eggs are beaten in a large bowl. 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 2 cups pumpkin purée (see below) are mixed. 1 Cup packed dark brown sugar and 3/4 cups heavy cream are stirred in and beaten together until everything is well mixed.

The filling is poured into an uncooked pie shell (250 g flour, 150 g butter, 3–4 tablespoons cold water, salt) and baked at a high temperature of 180 °C for 30–40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. To keep the crust from getting too browned, about half-way through the baking a foil is put around the edges.

Serve hot or cold with whipped cream.

 

Pumpkin Purée

A medium-sized sugar pumpkin is cut in half and the inside scraped out (seeds) and discarded. The pumpkin halves cut side down are placed on a lined baking sheet and baked 1–1.5 h at 350 °F until a fork can easily pierce them. Then it is cooled and the pulp scooped out. Alternatively the pumpkin can be cut into sections and steamed in a saucepan with a couple inches of water at the bottom, until soft (strain before using).

2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin or from canned pumpkin purée (one can also use puréed cooked butternut squash) are needed.