Dishes from pumpkins - from salads to desserts

Pumpkin refers to melons, so its closest "relatives" are zucchini, cucumbers, and, of course, melons and watermelons. Pumpkins exist not only edible, but such that are used to make various vessels and even musical instruments. Although, of course, today, pumpkin jugs are, rather, souvenir products than the subject of everyday life.

In the world there are many varieties of pumpkin. The smallest of them give fruits weighing about a kilogram, and the "classic" pumpkins that we used to see in American films about Halloween celebrations can reach a mass of up to 200 kilograms.

Pumpkin is used in cooking quite widely, thanks to its taste qualities, as well as the availability of nutrients. The most delicious and useful fruit with a bright orange flesh, because they contain a lot of carotene. A variety of dishes from pumpkins are served in the form of snacks and salads, soups are cooked from it, second courses are prepared , and, of course, delicious desserts.

For example, for salads, this fruit can be used in raw, baked or boiled form. But any dishes from a pumpkin begin to cook with the fact that it cleans it of seeds, fibers and peel. However, if you plan to bake a pumpkin, leave the rind and cut it later when the fruit is ready.

A round pumpkin is cut, like a watermelon, into slices. Then they cleanse the seeds and, if necessary, cut the skin. If the pumpkin is shaped like a pear, then first cut it from both ends, then peel the skin, and then, after cutting the fruit into quarters, clean the seeds.

If the dishes from the pumpkin suggest the use of baked flesh, then the slices are placed in the oven for about half an hour. Cook the pulp, cutting it into cubes. The cooking time is 15 minutes.

In salads the pumpkin is perfectly combined with apples, honey, nuts, carrots. From it you can prepare and salads with a sharp taste, adding tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, pickled cucumbers and some horseradish or garlic for piquancy.

Fill these salads with vegetable oil. But it is not recommended to use pumpkin so as not to "clog" the taste of vegetables.

The first dishes from the pumpkin are also quite diverse. It can be added to any vegetable soup, but the most interesting option is pumpkin soup. It can be cooked with various additives - rice, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots. And you can make a sweet soup, adding raisins or fresh plums.

Varied and second dishes from pumpkins, recipes that can be found in abundance on various culinary sites. It is added to vegetable stew, stew, makes from it various casseroles and sauces. An effective dish can be prepared using as a "dish" the pumpkin itself, for example, a beef stew with vegetables. To do this, the fruit should be washed well, but not cleaned. Then it is necessary to cut off the "lid" from one side and cleanse the seeds, as well as part of the pulp that will go to prepare the dish. Meat fry, then add the vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, pumpkin and any others) and put out a little. In the end, you can add tomatoes or tomato sauce. Prepared pumpkin oiled on the outside with oil, fill the stew and pour a little broth, cover with a lid of the cut portion, and bake in the oven for about two hours.

A simple and original recipe "pumpkin in Mexican" can be used for dinner. For cooking, you need to boil rice (use brown instead), and gourd the pumpkin on a grater or cut smaller strips. Also, small-sized chopped peppers, carrots and onions, you can add mushrooms. Stir vegetables with rice, add your favorite seasonings (the dish should be moderately sharp) and put it in a baking dish, spreading on top thin tomato mugs. Prepare the filling of beaten eggs with the addition of sour cream and mayonnaise, pour the prepared foods and put the baked. After about 30 minutes, get the form, sprinkle on top with grated cheese and again put baked for ten minutes.

As a dessert, you can cook a baked pumpkin with sweet sauce, pancakes or pancakes from it and, of course, pumpkin pies, the flavor of which instantly makes you forget about the diet.