Carve your pumpkin—and eat it, too
How to get more than jack out o’ that lantern
Hey Bean Team! Halloween is creepin’ on up, and the jack-o’-lanterns are taking their place on our porches. Pumpkin carving has been around for centuries, but the tradition also has a frightening side: More than 1 billion pounds of pumpkin ends up in the landfill every year, where, like any chucked grub, it breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that’s significantly more potent than carbon dioxide. Those of you who’ve been with us for a while probably know what I’m about to say, but just so everyone’s clear: I’m not here to spook you out of your family festivities but rather to give you some tricks on how to make treats with those pumpkins.
How do we give our gourds a greener afterlife? While we can’t nix Halloween waste entirely, what we can do is save a ton of those pumpkin guts for cooking. Even though oversized holiday pumpkins are different from the ones intended for eating, they are still edible—seeds and all. Larger ornamental varieties don’t have as much flavor as smaller ones do: They tend to be more fibrous and watery with paler flesh, but that’s nothing a little cooking (and a lot of spices) can’t fix. Pumpkin guts can easily become stock to fuel all your fall risottos, curries, and stews. Or they can also be cooked down into pumpkin purée for adding to baked goods or oatmeal.
Every part of the pumpkin soup
This cozy, creamy soup uses all parts of the pumpkin: flesh, pulp, and seeds. First the stringy bits sauté with shallots, garlic, ginger, and turmeric to make an aromatic broth. Then the pumpkin flesh simmers on the stove, before getting blended up with coconut milk for creaminess and a necessary touch of sweetness. Finally, spice-roasted pumpkin seeds top off the velvety soup with a nice dose of crunch.
This method leaves you with a carving-ready pumpkin, and it should be even easier to cut through those outer walls with the flesh hollowed out. The resulting jack-o’-lantern will last three to five days before it starts to slump. At that point, you can compost it right into the dirt or find someone who will take it off your hands.
Low-waste Pumpkin Soup
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 large pumpkin, about 4 to 6 pounds
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, grated
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon maple syrup
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Prep your pumpkin.
Using a sharp knife (a boning knife works well), cut out a disk on the top of your pumpkin. Scoop out the stringy pulp and seeds with your hands or a large metal spoon.
Add the pulp and seeds to a bowl of water. The seeds should float to the top and separate from the pulp. You can help the process by running the pulp through your fingers in the water.
Remove the seeds from the water and place on a clean kitchen towel to dry. Drain the pulp (save the water for your plants!) and set aside.
Use a metal spoon to scrape out as much flesh off of the inner walls of the pumpkin as possible. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Make your soup base.
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallots, ginger, and turmeric and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are very soft and starting to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the reserved pumpkin pulp, flesh, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes to release some liquid from the pumpkin.
Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the pumpkin is very tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Toast your seeds. Meanwhile, on a lined baking sheet, toss the pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, cumin, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden; let cool completely.
Blend. Once the pumpkin is cooked, stir in the coconut milk. Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to purée. Return to the stove and simmer until warmed through.
Serve. Ladle the finished soup into bowls and top with roasted pumpkin seeds.
Notes and Substitutions:
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can purée the soup in a standing blender, in batches if necessary.
Store extra pumpkin seeds in a jar for up to 2 weeks. Add them to soups, salads, or homemade granola.