Thursday, May 21

Pumpkin


This is the third post in a series of seasonal recipes to help out with the "Im so sick of this vegetable and what else can I make it into?' moment.

Baked pumpkin with seasonings of coriander, pepper, cumin and chilli and salt. Cant get much better than that. As for pumpkin prepared sweet style...well, remember who won that challenge, it was close I'll concede, but Im sure if there was a god, s/he would have said that pumpkin was definitely not meant to be served cold with sugar in a pie crust!

However, sometimes Im just not up for yet another baked vegetable, and in this house you cant even spice it and shake it up with a different cut of meat!

Last week, the day before market day, i looked into the cold cupboard to find but two vegetables left. Two 'ish' zucchini and a half a pumpkin. What on earth to do? I also found in the door a local Haloumi that i had been meaning to use for a few weeks ever since i failed to fry it and serve it up as a snack when friends were over, and after work Im just not into whipping up hor douvres in between 'sign this mum' and bath time! So, I had an aging haloumi and an old pumpkin and a few 'ish' zucchini. Sounds delish!


Hello! Google and Hello! 'Pumpkin and Haloumi fritters' (Im now over zucchini fritters - generally a good way to get zucchini haters to eat zucchini). Now Im generally not that into frying foods and not that into fritters - they're fattenning and i hate the smell and the feel of smoky oil on my skin and in the house, but these little treasures are so light and so damn quick that i dont have that problem. We have now had them three times and each time i have varied the herb depending on whats in the garden; oregano, coriander and parsley. All three were good.


The best thing about this recipe is that it all gets dumped in the food processor! Not usually my style but when you're just home from work and its your turn to cook- brilliant way to go! So, one processor bowl and one mixing bowl and about 5 minutes later you're ready to cook!

No measurements again, sorry if anyone is not comfortable with improvised cooking, i just used what i had and adjusted the eggs and flour.

A quarter of a Queensland blue pumpkin - big things so that was about 1 kg or so.
1 red onion - could use white, i just like the colour combo of purple and orange
1 'thing' of haloumi
1 bunch of green herb- parsley, coriander, or a handfull of stronger herb like oregano or majoram
Put all through the food processor shredder.
Mix in 1-2 eggs and about a half cup of plain flour. Mix well. Fry in shallow oil until golden - about 3 minutes each side. Serve.


I guarantee if you get to make them once, you'll make them again. Im now planning my life around pumpkin.

8 comments:

Maggie said...

These sound delicious Kel.
I need to buy a new food processer one that will shred pumpkin like you have. What brand is yours?
This is a serious question I hate spending money unless I know I am getting a good product.

Kelly said...

Hi Maggie - welcome! They are indeed rather dangerous things to have to many of. I have a Cuisinart, 6 kw of oomph! it does the job quietly and without a groan. I love it, beats the previous $30 job from Kmart wwhich used to smoke and dance and wake the baby!

Veggie Gnome said...

Luckily it didn't dance and smoke the baby!

Won't try any pumpkin just yet, as we are still not over The Glut of 2008. :)

Kale for Sale said...

This look delicious. Would feta be the US equivalent of Haloumi?

Kelly said...

hi kale! no, i thought about it after id posted how i probably should have not assumed everyone would know what haloumi is. Haloumi is a stretchy, chewy cheese used alot in greek/turkish cuisine. Its eaten fried. Its a taste sensation. You could substitute feta for sure, but the haloumi, for me, gives it that lovely squeaky chewiness that i look forward to!

Pip said...

I'm not a big fan of frying nowadays, like you I don't like the smell and smoke lingering in the house. I will put this down on the "to try" list. I don't mind a slice of pumpkin pie actually, and I love pumpkin muffins.
Pip

Unknown said...

Kel, those fritters look absolutely delightful. I am going to have to make some Haloumi and give that recipe a go with one of the butternuts my neighbour gave me. I can smell it now.

Gav

Kelly said...

veggie- um..yeah! and do you mean the zucchini glut of '08?

pip- i often think an asian kitchen is the way to go, then winter arrives! pumpkin muffins dont sound too weird, i could possibly enjoy one of those!

gav- give the haloumi a shot- its great stuff! they really are very YUM

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