For more
than a decade my grandparents have owned a home directly on the water at Smith
Mountain Lake, a rustic small town in the heart of Virginia. At least five
times a year the family members uproot their normal lives to drive hours to
this charmed place. We drink, we eat, we laugh, and we annoy the hell out of
each other. The men typically spend the entire weekend fixing things while the
women cook and the kids sleep in. It’s just the way it is down there. We all revert
to 1950’s house wives.
I am not
sure if it is the long, windy tree topped roads, the gorgeous Virginia Mountains,
or the absolute tranquility we feel spending just a couple of days in the
country. But we simply can’t stop going, and we simply would not. All of us don’t
make it down for every weekend but we do our best. The kids are all in college,
the older cousins are establishing their lives, and the aunts and uncles are
strewn about. The truly special occasions are when we all make it, and the
house is filled with wild hooligans just ready to cook, drink, and chat the
night away by fireside on the gorgeous wooden deck overlooking what feels like
our lake. All of this makes me miss my mom, dad, and brother while I bond with
my father’s side of the family. It also makes me feel not so alone since they
moved to Texas.
A couple of month
ago just when autumn was beginning to take root, and the leaves were slowly
changing colors, we hopped in the car and met the family there for a long
weekend. After a morning run on the quiet roads I joined my aunts to scout for
antiques. We soon found ourselves headed to a farm for pumpkins and a corn maze.
My aunts were kind enough to appease my childish need to finally run through corn;
something I truly have never done, and took only minutes to find our way out of.
After surviving the maze and wild boars (exaggeration alert: they were wildly
mean but they were fenced in), we then found ourselves in a giant pumpkin patch
raping the farmer of all his most beautiful pumpkins. Considering the farm was
selling them for pennies on the dollar we scooped up more than 20 of them for a
ridiculously low price. So ridiculously low that I refuse to part with the
farms name because I am going back next year to pillage again, and I don’t feel
like sharing. There were green ones, white ones, giant jack o lanterns, and
gorgeous cheese wheel pumpkins that were light creamy orange and “squashed” resembling
a wheel of cheese (hence the name). I couldn’t take my eyes off them, and when
the farmer helped us carry our loot back to the barn he told us these were the
absolute best pumpkins to make pie with.
Cheese wheel
pumpkins are simply the most delicious, sweet, soft pumpkins I have ever tasted.
Their flesh is much less stringy than a traditional pumpkin and much sweeter. I
cracked open the smallest one and got a beautiful whiff of fresh sweet pumpkin.
I just knew I wanted to do more with it than roast and puree for pies. I came
up with this savory recipe which you can also make with butternut squash if you
can’t find one of these beauties. It is absolutely delicious, and a perfect
side dish for a holiday buffet.
Pumpkins are
infamously hard to crack open, seed, and chop but I have a few tricks up my
sleeve.
- Cut straight down one side of the stem with a very heavy, sharp knife
- Clean out the halves using a large thin-edged spoon, discard the stringy pulp and clean/dry the seeds for roasting later.
- Place pumpkin cut side down and slice in to wedges about 1 inch thick. It is best to wedge the pumpkin first before peeling…unless you want to spend an hour try to peel the pumpkin.
- Remove the peel from each wedge using a sharp paring knife, then slice the wedge in to cubes.
- Tada! You are ready to make the recipe below. One small cheese wheel pumpkin yielded at least 10 cups of pumpkin. Save the rest in an air tight container in the fridge. Feel free to roast and puree the rest for pumpkin pie. Will last 5-7 days.
Roasted Pumpkin with Rosemary Pepita Pesto
Time in kitchen (not including pumpkin carving time): 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Nutrition information per serving: 125 calories, 2 grams saturated fat, 4 grams protein, 10 carbohydrates
Ingredients:
- 4 cups fresh cheese wheel pumpkin, cubed (butternut squash is a great alternative)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed from stem
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
For the
Rosemary Pepita Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
- 1/3 cup pepitas, toasted
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- The juice from ½ meyer lemon
- 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (more to taste)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay pumpkin in a single layer on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, rosemary, thyme, and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes, removing once to toss. Cook until a knife can easily pierce the flesh and the pumpkin is caramelized.
- While the pumpkin roasts place the flat leaf parsley, rosemary, toasted pepitas, meyer lemon juice, chopped garlic, and salt in a small food processor. Blend until it is a desired consistency, scraping down the sides a few times to well incorporate.
- To plate, top the warm roasted pumpkin with dollops of pesto (about 3 tablespoons) and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. This recipe makes more than enough pesto. I only used about ¼ of the recipe. Pesto keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days. Also great on pasta, salads, or dolloped on creamy soups.
I love your beautiful story. Rustic small town sounds very interesting. Amazing recipe also and the colors in your dish are just perfect for the season-) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I just love going to small rustic towns. Life would not be the same without these little experiences.
DeleteWhat's neat place to have! I wish my family got together like that.
ReplyDeleteThis pesto looks so good. I love that you used Meyer lemon. It's citrusy sweetness is perfect against rosemary.
The meyer lemon really makes it work. and just a little rosemary goes a loooong way.
DeleteYour family retreat home sounds absolutely idyllic! Those pumpkin wheels are the most nostalgic looking pumpkins I have ever seen. They look like they come from yester-year. I have never tried or seen one... but I bet they tasted fabulous. This is a beautiful roast pumpkin dish... it would definitely impress on any Thanksgiving table. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. :)
ReplyDeleteAren't the pumpkins just amazing? If they didn't taste so good I would never cut them up and eat them. Pretty as a picture.
DeleteThis looks beautiful, such vibrant colors and I bet it is delicious. Lovely story too and lucky you getting to run through the corn. I want to do that. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors of fall and all of the food that comes with it. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
DeleteI didn't know that's what those kinds of pumpkin are called! I love it. And I don't know that I've ever cooked with one ... love pumpkin in savory dishes, I think I am going to have to find your farmer! ; )
ReplyDeleteIsn't that a cute name for a pumpkin? Savory pumpkin dishes are the best. I could eat pumpkin every day!
DeleteYou had me at pepitas. That pesto is really intriguing. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThe pesto really brightens up the dish. I hope you are enjoying the holidays.
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