Pumpkins and squashes

Autumn colour

If you go to your local farmers' market in the autumn, a wonderful array of pumpkins is a sight you're likely to encounter. With their vibrant colours and even more exciting flavours, these should become a staple during cooler months to brighten up the kitchen and the dinner plate.

Squashes, too, are great additions to the kitchen at this time of year. As the autumn and winter squashes come into season (replacing summer squashes, such as the courgette), their nutty sweetness is ideal in warming soups, curries and roasts.

Buying pumpkins and squashes

The most common pumpkin we see at the greengrocers are often watery and bland, fit only for carving. But that isn't to say we should disregard the big orange fruit - instead of simply hollowing them and cutting faces into them, try saving the shell to use as a rustic soup tureen, or as a vessel for serving a delicious pumpkin risotto. The seeds can also be toasted and seasoned for a moreish snack.

For cooking, look out for smaller pumpkins and other winter squashes, such as the bright orange onion squash, which have more intense flavours. For both pumpkins and squash, always choose specimens with smooth, unblemished flesh and those which feel firm and heavy for their weight.

Global popularity

Pumpkins and squashes are used in many countries. Our North American cousins bake pumpkin pies during Thanksgiving while the Italians adore using them in risottos. Further east, in India, the popular Kaddoo (or West Indian pumpkin) is the favoured variety mainly used in braises and curries. The Vietnamese and Chinese use squashes in soups, the latter often using the (increasingly available) winter gourd, with its pure white flesh that boils down to a melting consistency.

Austria is famed for their fragrant pumpkin seed oil - often nicknamed 'black gold', this dark green oil is often whipped into soft cheeses or drizzled over salads to imbue food with its sweet, nutty flavour. In the Middle East, pumpkin is routinely stuffed with meat, rice and spices, and made into soups and preserves.

Pumpkin varieties

Good-quality pumpkins can be bought at farmers' markets, some supermarkets and at Asian and Caribbean greengrocers. The great thing about pumpkins is that one type can easily be replaced with another in the kitchen. Look out for the following types.

• Baby Bear – a very good cooking variety. Sweet and firm-fleshed, these user-friendly small fruit can be baked stuffed with cheese and cream for a single serving. Their flesh is good for both savoury and sweet dishes.
• Crown Prince – steel blue-grey with a golden interior. Keeps well and holds its shape. Ideal for roasting and for vegetarian kebabs.
• Delicata – small and white with green stripes and pale yellow flesh tasting of sweet potato. Keeps well and has a distinctive nutty flavour. Cooks to a dry texture and is good combined with cream and plenty of seasoning.
• Small Sugar – medium-sized fruit with sweet, bright orange flesh. Its high sugar content means it caramelises beautifully when roasted and is a superb pie-filler.
• Sweet Dumpling – small and very attractive densely-fleshed white and green squash. Sweet, almost chestnutty taste when cooked.
• Sweet Mama – another highly ornamental orange fruit perfect for a single serving. Cut off a 'lid' and bake whole.

Pumpkin recipes

Whatever the variety, pumpkins are versatile and flavourful cooking ingredients. We've selected a few choice recipes to get you started.

International flavours

• Pumpkin ravioli with sage butter (video recipe) by Paul Merrett from Get Cooking
• Pumpkin enchiladas with mole sauce by Simon Rimmer
• Pumpkin and tofu laksa by Celia Brooks Brown
• Pumpkin halwa by Sejal Sukhadwala
• Japanese pumpkin salad by Rosemary Moon

Snacks and soups

• Pumpkin pickle by Simon Rimmer
• Roast pumpkin seeds by Anthony Worrall Thompson
• Roast pumpkin soup with walnut relish and game livers on toast by Richard Corrigan
• Roasted pumpkin and thyme soup with Gruyère cheese by Rick Stein

Sweet endings

• Jerk-spiced pumpkin pie by Simon Rimmer
• Pumpkin drop scones by Tony Tobin
• Spiced pumpkin tart with stem ginger cream by James Martin

Squash varieties

Keep your eyes peeled for crates full of these magnificent autumn and winter squashes, all vying for your attention with their unique shapes and colours.

• Butternut – the most common and popular of autumn squashes, the butternut squash is a pale creamy beige and comes in an oblong shape with a rounded bottom. Like its name suggests, the flesh has a buttery flavour that is enhanced by brown sugar or cinnamon.
• Spaghetti squash – this curious oval squash has a golden-yellow skin and bright yellow flesh - when cooked, the tender flesh separates into spaghetti-like strands. Use as a gluten-free replacement in pasta recipes! The cooked strands are also excellent eaten cold after being tossed in a vinagrette.
• Turban, or Buttercup – a beautiful specimen that resembles a fat teardrop shaped like a turban. Deep green in colour with flashes of orange, the intense orange flesh is rich and nutty, which mellows out upon roasting.
• Onion – bright orange and onion-shaped with soft flesh that is best used in soups or risottos. Only keeps for a few weeks.
• Acorn – this small squash has deep ridges that can make peeling difficult. To get to the peppery, nutty golden-yellow flesh, it's best halved then baked with plenty of herbs and spices.
• Kabocha – this Japanese variety resembles the Turban squash but is more petite. It has a dark green skin with lighter green or white stripes and bright orange flesh, which is fluffier than other varieties (with a texture and taste almost like cooked chestnuts). Popular eaten as tempura, or braised.

Squash recipes

You'll see a common theme running through these recipes, as squashes go flawlessly with creamy accompaniments (try coconut milk or sage butter) and fresh herbs. A truly versatile ingredient, they also go remarkably well in desserts.

Soups and stews

• Coconut butternut squash stew by Anthony Worrall Thompson
• Lamb, yam and butternut squash soup by Lenny Henry
• Chunky spaghetti squash soup by Nick Nairn

Robust mains

• Roasted partridge with caramelised butternut squash and green herb sauce by Brian Turner
• Roasted butternut squash by Louisa Carter
• Ravioli of walnut and roasted squash with sage butter by Peter Bayless
• Spiced winter squash stuffed peppers by Lise Olson
• Grilled scallop and snails on Thai-curried butternut squash purée with sweet potato crisps by Peter Gordon

Delicious desserts

• Butternut squash fruit cake and whipped cream by Anthony Worrall Thompson
• Ginger and butternut squash ice cream by James Martin
• Butternut bavarois by Heston Blumenthal

Updated October 2008