Pumpkin

Probably one of the easiest soups you will ever make, this smooth, creamy delight is perfect whether you’re entertaining or curling up in front of the fire.

Baked with pumpkin for added flavor, moisture, and body, these gingerbread muffins are perfect for brown-bagging or after-school snacks.

Cover a cakelike layer on the bottom with a custardlike layer on top to get cupcakes that seem almost like pumpkin pie.

Here again you can add in up to 1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage, cooked and crumbled, and this becomes a hungry-man (or -woman) supersize meal!

Serve with steamed broccoli or cauliflower.

Serve with crusty bread.

This belongs to a category of Bangladeshi foods known as bharats. Part relish and part vegetable dish, they add extra flavor to a meal. We are beginning to find peeled and seeded butternut squash in our supermarkets now, making this dish a snap to make. Those who cannot find it will need to use a peeler to get the skin off. I like to use mustard oil here, as it gives a very Bengali taste to the dish. If you have never used it, this might be a good time to try. Otherwise, use olive oil. I love this with all pork dishes and at vegetarian meals with other vegetables, dal, and pooris (a deep-fried flatbread).

This Kurdish preserve makes a ready sweet to serve with chopped walnuts or clotted cream.

A much-loved Turkish dessert. You can find the large orange-fleshed pumpkins sold in slices in Middle Eastern and Indian stores.

The success of this Turkish pilaf depends on the flavor of the orange-fleshed pumpkin, which varies. (It should be sweet-tasting.) I prefer the dish without the raisins.

The round, sweet orange-fleshed pumpkins are the ones to use for this dish. The amount of stuffing you need depends on the size of the pumpkin. If you wish to make it without meat, increase the quantity of rice.

Combinations of fresh and dry vegetables are called tbikhas in North Africa. All kinds of vegetables—peppers, carrots, turnips, cardoons, spinach—are cooked together with chickpeas and dried beans. This dish can be made hot and peppery with harissa, but it is very good without.

This delicate and beautiful soup is made with the large orange pumpkins that are sold cut up in large slices. Ask to taste a bit from an open one, as the taste varies. You will know if it is not very good.

These large individual pies with a Turkish filling make a wonderful first course. You need the sweet orange-fleshed pumpkin for this. It is sold in Middle Eastern and Oriental stores, almost all the year round, in large slices, with the seeds and stringy bits removed.

This is the simplest ever pumpkin soup where the pure, sweet taste of pumpkin is married with the slightly sharp one of yogurt. The large orange-fleshed pumpkins are winter vegetables, but you can find them throughout the year in Asian and Middle Eastern stores, sold by the slice, with their seeds and fibers removed, and wrapped in plastic wrap.

Pumpkin is frequently used in Turkey in sweet as well as savory dishes. This is a “cheese” with an unusual, delicious flavor. It is best made the night before and keeps very well for days in the refrigerator. You need the large pumpkins with the sweet orange flesh. They are winter vegetables, but you can now buy them most of the year in Asian and Middle Eastern stores, where they are sold by the slice, weighing between 1 pound and 2 pounds, the seeds and stringy fibers removed. Some greengrocers also sell them by the slice. In Turkey, this dessert is served with the very thick cream call kaymak (see page 218) but clotted cream or mascarpone will do very well. It is very rich, so serve small portions.

Pumpkin pie is a custard-type pie that bakes most easily in the convection oven at a steady temperature. Because ovens can vary, if your pie gets too dark too soon, reduce the oven temperature by another 25 degrees. The pie is done when a knife inserted just off center comes out clean and the center of the pie still jiggles but is not liquid. This will be in 10 to 15 minutes less time than if baked in a conventional oven. I prefer pumpkin pie chilled rather than hot from the oven, which allows me to bake it a day in advance.