Now I realize that it's the day after Halloween and the last thing you want to be thinking about is pumpkin, especially since some of the neighborhood kids smashed your jack 'o lantern last night and you have big chunks of pumpkin to clean up off your front porch. Be that as it may, I wandered across a really fun recipe for pumpkin steaks and I couldn't help it. I had to share.
It's sort of a labor intensive recipe, in which you cut the pumpkin into flat chunks, bake it in the oven until its tender and then pan fry it. But gosh does it sound good. I'm tempted to get my hands on another cooking pumpkin and try it out. It would be a great one to tuck away for Thanksgiving, for those of you who are tired of the same squash or sweet potato dishes. The full recipe is after the jump.
[via Green Daily]
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PAN-ROASTED JACK-O-LANTERN PUMPKIN STEAKS
One large organic jack-o-lantern pumpkin (try to find one that has straight sides)
Olive oil
Brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the pumpkin in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and stringy pulp with a spoon, and cut the pumpkin into square chunks with 4- to 5-inch sides. From a large pumpkin, one could get up to 20 portions.
Place the pumpkin chunks skin side down on a baking sheet. Brush oil on liberally, then sprinkle with one teaspoon brown sugar per chunk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1-1/2 hours, depending on the thickness of the pumpkin. To test for doneness, stick a knife into the pumpkin. When the knife goes all the way through easily, remove from oven and allow to cool.
Once cool, cut off the skin and season again with salt and pepper. Then dredge in flour, coating well but without excess.
When you're ready to serve, heat some olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Place the floured pumpkin steaks skin side up in the hot oil and cook until brown and crunchy, a couple of minutes. Turn the steaks and brown on the other side. Since this side doesn't have sugar on it, it will take a little longer, about 3 to 4 minutes. Note that for thicker pieces, it might be necessary to finish the cooking process in the oven to make sure the pumpkin steaks are thoroughly done in the center.
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