Food
There are so many tasty ways to use up your lantern leftovers.
Halloween wouldn’t be complete without giant orange pumpkins with ghoulish faces. And Brits love them, with an estimated 24 million pumpkins being bought for October 31 each year, according to environmental group Less Waste. But our love of pumpkins is actually causing a scary byproduct, with over half of the UK’s 24 million pumpkins destined to become food waste. If you’re looking to have a more eco-friendly Halloween, then it may be worth considering how you’ll dispose of your pumpkin once November 1 rolls around. Below are 11 pumpkin recipes to help you avoid food waste and create some delicious treats.
It turns out pumpkins are a totally overlooked food as, according to Knorr's report, a quarter of the nation (23.81%) didn’t know they could cook with the leftover flesh. Although carving pumpkins are bred to be large, with thin flesh, and are a bit more fibrous than their squash and gourd cousins, they are completely good to cook and eat. In fact, it’s almost all edible including the skin and seeds, just not the stalk.
Yes, it’s great to support your local farms and visit a pumpkin patch, but with 2.9 million tonnes of food waste every year in the UK, we should be trying to avoid chucking stuff away whenever we can. So why not turn your halloween decoration into a delicious meal? Here are some pumpkin recipes that will save you from wasting this delicious edible gourd.
1Pumpkin Soup
Tried and tested, pumpkin soup is a classic you can’t really go wrong with. Because carving pumpkins aren’t big on flavour and are pretty fibrous, make sure to adapt your recipe with more stock and additional spices to really give it a kick.
2Haunted Graveyard Tagine
If you’re looking for a spooky halloween-themed meal for Oct. 31 then look no further. Not only is this Haunted Graveyard Tagine from Hubbub full of tangy spices and mushrooms, it's also got some scary puff pastry grave stones thrown in there.
3Pumpkin Risotto
This creamy pumpkin risotto will warm the coldest of souls this Halloween. Simply bake your pumpkin whole, before scooping out the orange goodness and transforming it into a flavoursome risotto. And the best bit is it’s put back in the carved out pumpkin for serving, creating a real show stopper moment.
4Pumpkin Pie
It’s more of a Stateside staple, but it wouldn’t be pumpkin season without mentioning the humble pumpkin pie. Although the Pilgrim’s pumpkin pie recipe actually came without a crust, instead being made inside the shell of the gourd, nowadays days, pumpkin pie recipes calls for a sweet shortcrust pastry tart case filled with spiced pumpkin.
5Pumpkin Hummus
You can never go wrong with a bit of chip and dip on your table. This pumpkin hummus is a twist on the classic chickpea dip with tahini and lemon, but with the addition of garlicky roasted pumpkin.
6Pumpkin Mulled Wine
One for the adults. Yes, it's even possible to turn pumpkins into an alcoholic beverage. This recipe is similar to the traditional red mulled wine recipe, except you add in pumpkin, which has been cooked down with spices, mashed up and strained into the wine.
7Pumpkin Curry
Not only does this TikTok takes you through a step-by-step process on creating a tangy pumpkin curry, but it also gives you a little background about the significance of pumpkins in Indian culture.
8Pumpkin Pancakes
Want to feel the warm autumnal vibe first thing in the morning? Then this five-step TikTok Pumpkin Pancake recipe is the one for you. This one gives you the chance to play around with flavour whilst having that all-important pumpkin base.
9Pumpkin Trail Mix
When you’re carving your pumpkin, don’t throw away those precious seeds! They can be eaten too and will save you some money compared to posh shop-bought ones. This is your classic pumpkin roasted seeds with a twist. Why not make it into an on theme trail mix - with candy corn, almonds and perfectly seasoned pumpkin seeds. The perfect snack to have on hand on a busy autumn day.
10Pumpkin Coffee Cake
For coffee-lovers out there, this is the perfect coffee-pumpkin fusion for the spooky season. Moist, caffeinated, topped with crunchy walnuts and rich pumpkin spice glaze – the perfect side to a cup of hot cocoa.
11The Pumpkin Steamer
Forget pumpkin spiced lattes, this TikToker describes The Pumpkin Steamer as “fall in a cup” and we would have to agree. If you’re looking to skip that coffee-shop expense, this make-at-home drink is the perfect alternative. Mix together all those luscious pumpkiny ingredients – it’s delicious and money-saving.
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