100% Homemade Pumpkin Puree
There are hundreds (no kidding) of recipes that I want to try that call for pumpkin puree. I just can’t picture myself walking out of the grocery store with cases of canned pumpkin. And, even though I think canned pumpkin puree is fine, I get a kick out of making my own. Now, when I buy those pretty, bright orange pumpkins for my Fall decorations, I pick up a few extra for dinner!
What you’ll need:
1 large pumpkin
and a very sharp knife
Using a very sharp knife remove the stem from the pumpkin.
Cut the pumpkin into 8 wedges.
Remove the seeds and pulp making sure that the pumpkin is completely clean.
Place the pumpkin wedges into a large roasting pan.
Bring the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Place the pumpkin wedges in the oven, uncovered and roast 60 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and continue baking 2 hours.
The pumpkin meat should be fork tender and no liquid should be visible under the skin that has formed.
Turn off the oven but leave the pumpkin wedges in the oven with the oven door slightly cracked to ventilate for 2 more hours.
Remove the wedges from the oven and cut away any skin or exceptionally dry pieces of meat.
Place the wedges into the blender or food processor.
Puree until you achieve the smooth texture you are looking for.
Use the puree in your favorite pumpkin dish or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Serving amount depends on the size of the pumpkin.
When removing the dry parts of the meat after roasting, remember that even though it is dry it is still tender enough to use. The parts that may be too dry and not usable will be around the area where the stem was cut away. Also ,when you puree the meat you will have to scrape and stir the pieces for a few minutes. They are too heavy to move on their own until they begin to liquify and lose the heaviness.