Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Okay, I know that fall is pretty much over; but if you are like me, then you will cook with pumpkin as long as you can. I discovered last year that fresh pumpkin is definitely worth the effort. Up until then, I had always used canned. Then I decided to take the plunge and try roasting a pumpkin and making my own puree. After all that I made myself a pumpkin pie. Oh. My. Goodness. That was the best pumpkin pie I had ever had (up till then of course). After that I have went the fresh pumpkin way if I could, or had the energy.

It's really easy converting a recipe from canned to fresh.



A 15 oz can of pumpkin holds roughly 1 3/4 pumpkin puree; a 29 oz can hold 3 1/2 cups. So if you have a recipe that calls for one can of pumpkin, all you have to do is measure out the fresh. Done and done!!  

Now, all I'm asking of you is to try roasting your own pumpkin. Yes, it make take a few extra minutes *cough* hours...BUT it's totally worth it!!! Just try it one time, and you may never go back to canned.

Of course, unless you're lazy like me and have used up your stash of puree then grab a can. I won't judge. :)

Decapitate your beautiful pumpkins.

Remove all the seeds and gunk, and slice into quarters and smaller.

Roast them. Skin side up or down, does not matter.

Let cool to the touch and remove the skin. Normally the skin will easily peel off, but if your pumpkin was stubborn like mine, take a pairing knife to it.

Puree in a food processor or blender.

Put puree in a mesh strainer and place over a bowl to allow any extra water to drain. Let it drain up to 1 hour. 

If not using right away, place in freezer bags and freeze!

Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:
Sugar Pumpkin (Use however many you want. The more pumpkins you roast, the more puree you'll have.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cut off stems of pumpkin and scoop out all of the seeds and membranes.
3. Cut pumpkins into fourths, and roast on a foiled lined baking sheet for 45 minutes. Test the flesh with a fork, if it goes in and out of pumpkin smoothly, then it is done!
4. Let pumpkin rest until cool to the touch. Using hands, or a pairing knife, remove all of the skin. Cut flesh into 1-2 inch cubes, you might even be able to just tear it apart if your pumpkin is super tender. 
5. Place pumpkin into a large food processor or blender, you may have to work in batches. Blend until there are no more lumps and puree looks smooth. Transfer to a mesh strainer over a large bowl, and repeat with remaining pumpkin. 
6. Let the puree drain in the mesh strainer for about 1 hour. You want to remove as much water as possible. 

One 2 lb sugar pumpkin makes approximately 2 cups of puree (Just enough for one 9-inch pumpkin pie). I used two 2-3 lb pumpkins and was able to get about 5 3/4 cups of puree.

If a recipe asks for a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree, that would be a tad less than 2 cups of fresh puree. 2 cups of fresh pumpkin is equivalent to 16-oz of canned.