6 pumpkin recipes with a Texan twist

This article first appeared on Texas Highways. Click here to view the article in its original format.

Sure, pumpkin pie is delicious, but let’s not limit ourselves to a quick appearance at the Thanksgiving table. As these Texan chefs and creators of top restaurants and travel destinations prove with their innovative recipes, pumpkin can also be hot, hearty, crispy and deep fried. Before your decorative front door gourds go completely broken, be sure to upcycle them into a bowl you won’t soon forget.

At the Hall Arts Hotel, which opened almost a year ago in downtown Dallas, chef Eric Dreyer serves a favorite southwestern stew at Ellie’s restaurant. Serve with corn bread or corn or flour tortillas. Served 4.

Ingredients:

1 gallon of chicken broth

1 onion, chopped

¼ cup of chopped, peeled cloves of garlic

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1 kabocha pumpkin, peeled and chopped

4 Gaujillo chillies

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 cup of pumpkin puree

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon of Mexican oregano

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/4 cup diced country ham

½ cup of corn kernels

¼ cup of diced red onion

¼ cup of roasted, peeled, and diced poblano pepper

1 tablespoon of diced jalapeno

¾ cup of cooked hominy

¼ cup of diced yellow tomato

¼ cup of diced red tomato

¼ cup of coriander leaves

1 cup fried tortilla strips

Preparation: Heat some broth or broth over medium heat, add onion and garlic, cook for 10 minutes or until translucent. Add pumpkins, chilli peppers, jalapeno, squash, lime, oregano and remaining stock, stir well and lower the heat. Simmer for 1 hour; Fluid is significantly reduced. Mix the ingredients and pass through the sieve; Discard solids that have not been strained away. Season to taste with lime, salt and pepper and set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil over a medium to high flame and fry the ham for about 2 minutes until it is brown. Add corn, onion, poblano, and jalapeno and saute another 3 minutes. Add hominy and tomatoes and heat for 1 minute. Add the stock and stir well. Pour the pozole into four bowls and garnish with strips of coriander and tortilla.

Chef Callie Salls opened her catering business and gourmet to-go business Meyer & Sage in Fort Worth to accommodate customers with special dietary needs and those who want fresh dishes made with natural, healthy ingredients. She updates her menus with seasonal dishes like this grain and vegetable pilaf that goes well with turkey or ham, or stuffed in baked acorn squash. For 6 to 8 people.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pound squash or butternut squash, peeled, diced into 1-inch cubes

4 medium-sized gala apples, unpeeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

1 tablespoon of fresh sage, chopped

2 tablespoons of avocado oil

Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups of quinoa prepared

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

½ cup of pepitas, roasted and salted

½ cup of golden raisins

½ cup of dried cranberries

2 cups of rocket, optional

Sherry Maple Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons of whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

1 orange

1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar

1 cup of grapeseed or avocado oil

Crushed red chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: Combine squash or squash with apples, fresh sage, oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Beat halfway through and put back in the oven until golden and tender. In a large bowl, combine a warm toasted mixture with prepared quinoa, pecans, pepitas, raisins, and cranberries (and arugula, if used). Stir in 1 cup of sherry maple vinaigrette (below) and adjust the spices to taste. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Sherry maple vinaigrette: whisk whole grain mustard and pure maple syrup with the juice and lemon zest of 1 orange, sherry vinegar, grapeseed or avocado oil, a pinch of crushed red chilli flakes and salt and pepper as desired. Makes 1½ cups.

At Lubbock’s new restaurant is The Nicolett (opening this month). The local son Finn Walter acts as the chef. To use pumpkin, he offers a sharable autumn vegetable class with the Hokkaido pumpkin, which he loves for its versatility, taste and color. If that’s not available, he’ll happily replace Delicata squash, which has a similar texture. For 4 to 6 people.

Ingredients:

2 Hokkaido pumpkin (also called red kuri pumpkin) or delicata pumpkin

4 tomatoes

1 yellow pumpkin

1 green zucchini

Salt to taste

½ gallon of rapeseed or other deep-frying oil

½ teaspoon of salt

⅛ teaspoon of baking soda

¼ cup of cornstarch

¾ cup of rice flour

1 egg yolk

1 cup Topo Chico (ice cold)

peanut oil

Local pickled vegetables (optional)

¼ cup pepitas

1 teaspoon pumpkin seed oil

Instructions: Cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, leaving the thin pumpkin skin intact. Cut each half into 1-inch strips and cut the strips in half. Remove tomatillo peels; Quarter tomatoes. Cut the pumpkin and zucchini into ribbons with a peeler. Lightly sprinkle salt on the vegetables, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, make tempura dough by combining dry ingredients in a stainless steel bowl. Stir in egg yolks, followed by topo chico. The mixture should bubble and create a light batter. Cool immediately; Keep cold until use.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, pour oil to a depth of 3 inches and heat to 360 to 370 degrees. Dredge pumpkin slices in batter and fry them. After 1 minute, add the tomatoes to the batter and add to the oil. To test the degree of doneness, pierce the pumpkin and tomatoes with a fork; If these pierce easily, the vegetables can be removed with a slotted spoon. Season generously with salt.

To serve, place the pumpkin and zucchini ribbons in a medium bowl like a nest. If you’re using pickled vegetables, cover the nest with these, followed by layers of fried tomatillo and pumpkin slices. Scatter pepitas over the top and finish with a dash of pumpkin seed oil.

If you visit Houston Urban Harvest Farmers Market on Saturdays, you can find this treat for sale at the Underbelly Hospitality booth. It’s addicting and makes a great gift too. The creation comes from Underbelly’s pastry chef Victoria Dearmond. Makes 12 cups.

Ingredients:

12 cups of popcorn popped

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup of brown sugar

½ cup) sugar

2 teaspoons of salt

1 tablespoon of honey

3 tablespoons of light corn syrup

½ teaspoon of baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice (see below)

Instructions: Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Combine popcorn and pumpkin seeds in a well-greased pan with high sides so you can stir easily without creating a mess. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, salt, honey and syrup. Whisk over medium to high heat until melted. cook another 3 to 5 minutes to simmer easily. You want this to smell like caramel but not turn out too dark. Stir in baking powder; This will at least double the volume of the mixture. Pour over popcorn and pumpkin seeds and stir with a rubber spatula. (If it doesn’t cover everything, don’t panic, you can help it with the first stir during baking.) Place in the oven and bake, stirring after 10 minutes to distribute caramel all over the popcorn. Stir for a total of 45 minutes after a further 15 minutes and then after a further 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a surface where it can cool quickly. If it’s crispy, you’re done. If it’s a little chewy, bake a little more, stir, and check every 5 minutes until it’s done. Sprinkle the pumpkin spice mixture evenly over the mixture. Stir again so that it does not clump together, if necessary with your hands. After cooling completely, store in airtight containers to prevent it from getting sticky.

Pumpkin Spice Mix: Combine 3 tablespoons of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of ground ginger, 2 teaspoons of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of allspice and ¾ teaspoon of ground cloves. Mix well and store in an airtight container.

Most people know the tiny town of Buffalo Gap, a short drive south of Abilene, for the Perini Ranch Steakhouse. Now the hamlet is a good stop for breakfast and lunch at The Gap Café, where a large bakery offers the temptations of the hotel’s Salty Roan Bakehouse. Here’s an autumn offer, perfect for enjoying a large cup of coffee.

Ingredients:

5 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup) sugar

4 ¾ teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

¾ cup of cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 cup chopped pecans

1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree

3 eggs

¼ cup of whipped cream plus extra for brushing

½ cup of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

1 tablespoon of heavy cream.

Preparation: Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Add pieces of butter to the flour mixture and blend with a food processor or cookie cutter until the texture resembles small pebbles. Stir in chopped pecans. Mix the pumpkin, eggs and whipped cream in a separate bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture to flour mixture. Stir with your hands (or a wooden spoon) until everything is incorporated – but do not overmix. It doesn’t come together like a dough and look dry, but it sticks together when pressed. Divide the dough into two equal parts and press it into two circles about 1 inch thick on a floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take the batter out of the freezer and cut each circle into 6 large triangles. Brush with cream and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and drizzle with maple glaze at the bottom.

Maple glaze: Whisk icing sugar, maple syrup and cream in a bowl. Place in the fridge on baked and cooled scones until it drizzles.

For more than 25 years, the Pigeon Nest in Waxahachie has been a magnet for locals and road tripers in search of lunch with a shopping side. Take-away treats include glasses of relishes and apple butter, as well as this seasonal pumpkin butter. Serve on hot biscuits or English muffins. Makes 4 cups.

Ingredients:

1 (29 ounces) can pumpkin puree

½ cup of dark brown sugar

½ cup of pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon of ground allspice

¾ cup of water

Preparation: Mix all ingredients in a saucepan with a strong base. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, simmer gently for 20 minutes and caramelize to a darker rusty brown color. Stir every 2 minutes to keep it from sticking. The finished pumpkin butter should be thick and shiny. Allow to cool and transfer to 8-ounce jars. This stays in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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