It’s that time of year again when pumpkins and squash are everywhere and everyone’s looking for inspiration for some seasonal recipes.
Luckily, I’ve got some brilliant recipes on the way that are easy, delicious and perfect for the whole family to enjoy! I’m sharing two today, but also have a Trick or Treat recipe coming over the next weeks to help you have a healthy, happy Halloween and to help reduce wastage around Halloween (those poor pumpkins) and also creating some more exciting food options for babies, toddlers and kids at this time of year.
A small pumpkin normally weighs about 1kg so will easily work in all these recipes. You can use a cooking pumpkin or a carving pumpkin for both recipes – the cooking ones tend to have the most flavourful flesh but either will work. You could also use butternut squash if you have some to hand.
Thank you so much to Emily Kerrigan for these wonderful recipes. You can find more on her website or Instagram. I hope you enjoy them!
Chickpea & pumpkin soup
Roast pumpkin and chickpeas with cumin and paprika in this mildly spiced soup. It is freezable, nut-free, gluten-free and vegetarian and can be vegan and dairy-free too if you use plant milk. Parents and older children can garnish it with a few extra crunchy chickpeas from the roasting tin and the roasted seeds too, if liked (see the end of the blog for how to roast the seeds).
Total cooking time: 1 hour
Hands on prep time: 15 minutes
Makes: 8 baby portions or 2 adult and 4 baby portions
- 750g cubed pumpkin
- 2 x 400g cans chickpeas
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 level tsp ground cumin
- 4 level tsp smoked paprika
- 1 onion
- 2 sticks of celery
- drizzle more olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 250ml semi-skimmed (or plant) milk
- 700ml low-salt vegetable stock (omit and replace for water for babies under 12 months)
- A little more extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling over before serving
- Preheat the oven to 220C/200 fan/gas mark 7.
- Cut the pumpkin in half then peel each half with a speed peeler. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh with a tablespoon (you can reserve the seeds to roast – see Tip). Chop the pumpkin flesh into slices and then cubes (about 2cm). Measure out 750g.
- Drain the chickpeas and add to a roasting tin with the pumpkin. Add the olive oil, cumin and paprika to the tin, stir and give the tin a shake to ensure everything is well coated.
- Roast for 40 mins, shaking the tin a few times during cooking to help everything roast evenly.
- About 15 minutes before the chickpeas and pumpkin are ready to come out of the oven, dice up your onion and celery. Add a drizzle of olive oil to your largest lidded saucepan or casserole dish. Add the onion and celery and sweat for 5 minutes. Crush in the garlic cloves and cook for a few minutes more.
- Get your pumpkin and chickpeas out of the oven. Reserve about 2 tbsp of roasted chickpeas (for topping the soup) and add the rest to the saucepan with the pumpkin.
- Pour in the milk and stock, give everything a good stir then simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes.
- Cool a little before blending with a stick blender until smooth. Top bowls with the reserved chickpeas, drizzle over a swirl of extra-virgin olive oil and grind over black pepper to serve. You also garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds if you like.
Easy pumpkin hummus
This dip is made in moments in a food processor. You’ll need to roast the pumpkin first for half an hour but it doesn’t take much to prepare and then the oven does the work. The hummus is nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Toddlers like it with veggie and toast dippers and it makes a good portable snack in a jam jar.
Total cooking time: 40 minutes
Hands on prep time: 10 minutes
Makes: A big bowl
- 150g cubed pumpkin
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- A small garlic clove
- 1 small lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 220C/200 fan/gas mark 7.
- Cut the pumpkin in half then peel each half with a speed peeler. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh with a tablespoon (you can reserve the seeds to roast – see Tip). Chop the pumpkin flesh into slices and then cubes (about 2cm). Measure out 150g and add to a bowl with the olive oil and cumin. Mix to ensure the pumpkin is all coated then pop on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Add the cooked pumpkin and remaining ingredients to a food processor and blend. Season to taste
The seeds from your pumpkin don’t have to go to waste. Follow the steps below for a delicious topping:
- Wash the seeds in a sieve to remove any flesh from prepping you pumpkin
- Dry well on kitchen paper
- Toss with 2 tsp olive oil, spread out in a single layer on a roasting tray and pop in the oven alongside the pumpkin when you’re roasting it
- They should brown up in around 10 minutes or so (keep an eye on them)
- Use to garnish the soup and hummus if you like or as a crunchy topper in salads
(Leave these out for babies and younger children, or grind them well as they could be a choking hazard)