Many legends and myths are associated with pumpkin. In Laos, there is a legend that a magical bird warned a family about the impending Great Flood. People hid in a large pumpkin and thanks to this they were saved. When the water left, the seeds were planted in the ground, and from the fruits, instead of seeds, people grew up.

Recently, pumpkin dishes have begun to be prepared less and less. And in vain, this is a storehouse of useful substances for the normal functioning of the body. Positive effects of the miracle vegetable:

• Improves metabolism.
• Removes waste and toxins.
• Improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
• Drives out excess water.
• Improves the functioning of the nervous system.
• Works as a preventative against the formation of cancer cells.
• Improves visual acuity.
• Normalizes blood pressure.
• Prevents urolithiasis.
• Improves skin condition.

Pumpkin cooked in the oven is considered a dietary product - low in calories, but satisfying.

Preparing for baking

Baking is the best way to obtain delicious dietary dishes and preserve nutrients.

Which vegetable is better to choose?

There are a large number of pumpkin varieties. When choosing, you must adhere to the following rules:

• A round or oval shaped fruit is best. Optimal weight 3-5 kg.
• The tail should be dry, preferably whole.
• You should not buy cut up pumpkin.
• The color of the pulp should be bright yellow or orange. Then the vitamin A content will be maximum.
• The peel is undamaged, dense and smooth.
• To determine ripeness, you need to press on the skin with your fingernail; if it doesn’t press through, the vegetable is ripe.

Edible varieties:

• Nutmeg.
• Hard-bark (regular, spaghetti squash).
• Large-fruited.

How to bake pumpkin in pieces in the oven

To make your dishes tasty and healthy, you must follow some baking rules:

• There is no need to peel the skin before baking. It comes off easily later and adds flavor to the dish.
• The time it takes to cook can be determined by the thickness of the slices. If 2 cm, bake for 60 minutes. Thinner is faster, thicker is longer.
• You can check for doneness by piercing it with a fork; if it’s soft, it’s ready.
• During baking, you need to add a little water.
• The optimal temperature is 200 °C.

How to bake spaghetti squash

An amazing type of pumpkin - spaghetti. Once cooked, it breaks down into fibers similar to pasta. Great for preparing many dishes. To bake it you need:

1. Preheat the oven to 180-200 °C.
2. To prevent the vegetable from bursting during cooking, pierce it several times.
3. Pour some water into a baking tray.
4. Bake for 40-60 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, cool slightly.
6. Cut, remove seeds.
7. Separate the fibers from the peel.
8. Place in a bowl.
9. Before serving, add oil, salt and pepper.

Mozzarella and basil cheeses are great for this type of cheese.

Pumpkin slices with sugar

Pumpkin has an amazing ability: its taste depends on what ingredients you cook it with. It can be salty, spicy or sweet.

• raisin,
• sugar,
• pears,
• fruit pilaf,
• apples,
• berries,
• dried fruits.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pumpkin;
• 60 g sugar;
• a little salt;
• 50 ml vegetable or butter.

Cooking technology:

1. Prepare the oven by preheating to 200°C.
2. Peel the pumpkin and cut into slices.
3. Mix sugar and salt, sprinkle vegetables on top. With this combination, salt will enhance the sweetness of the sugar.
4. Sprinkle oil on top.
5. Add ¼ cup of water and place in the oven. To avoid burning on top, cover the container with food foil.
6. Baking time is approximately 40-60 minutes.

This recipe is considered dietary. If you want a sweeter option, you need to increase the amount of sugar.

Video recipe

Recipe with honey and apples

Recipe No. 1

Ingredients:

• 0.4 kg pumpkin;
• 0.5 kg apples;
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon;
• 40 g walnuts;
• 2 tablespoons of honey.

Preparation:

1. Peel sour or sweet-sour apples, remove core, cut into 2x2 pieces.
2. Cut the pumpkin without skin into pieces similar to apples or a little thinner.
3. Place the fruit in the prepared pan with foil and add 2 tablespoons of water.
4. Place the baking sheet in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the pan and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
6. Place a layer of apples.
7. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.
8. Let cool slightly, place into portioned plates, pour over honey, sprinkle with nuts. The dish is ready to eat.

There are other options for this recipe:

• with apples and raisins;
• with honey;
• with apples and quince;
• with apples and walnuts.

Recipe No. 2

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kg pumpkin;
• 0.2 kg apples;
• 0.5 glasses of water;
• 0.2 kg of honey.

Preparation:

1. Core the apples and cut into slices.
2. Peel the vegetable and cut it similar to apples, but a little thinner.
3. Place on a baking sheet, pour over honey and water.
4. Place in a preheated oven and bake at 180°C for about 2 hours.
5. When serving, the finished dish can be sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Pumpkin with meat for main course

Sugar-free pumpkin baked in the oven is suitable as a side dish for meat or fish, which can be eaten either hot or chilled.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg pumpkin;
• 40 ml vegetable oil;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• salt;
• pepper mixture;
• take greens to taste.

Preparation:

1. Peel the fruit and cut into small cubes.
2. Combine chopped garlic, salt, spices.
3. Stir in pumpkin pieces.
4. Place in prepared pan and add a little water.
5. Place in a preheated oven at 180-200 °C for 30-40 minutes.

Bake a delicious whole pumpkin

Classic recipe

To bake whole, you need to select a small fruit so that it cooks evenly. The washed vegetable is pierced, placed in a mold and in the oven. It will bake for about an hour.

With apples and raisins

There are many options for baking with apples in general. But you should remember the rules that apply to all recipes:

• Vegetables cook slower than fruits, so it is better to choose firm apples.
• You need a ripe fruit of a sweet variety with orange flesh.
• The degree of readiness is determined by piercing with a knife or fork. If the fruit is soft, the dish is ready, everything is baked inside.
• Lemon juice goes well with the combination of pumpkin and apples.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg pumpkin;
• 0.5 kg apples;
• 100 g raisins;
• 30 g butter;
• 80 g sour cream;
• 50 g walnuts;
• 2-3 g cinnamon;
• sugar to taste.

Preparation:

1. Cut off the top of the pumpkin, remove seeds and pulp.
2. Core the apples and cut into cubes.
3. Fry the apples a little in butter in a frying pan. The moisture should evaporate slightly.
4. Wash and dry the raisins.
5. Chop the nuts.
6. Mix raisins, nuts, cinnamon, fill the vegetable with filling.
7. Mix sour cream with sugar and pour inside the fruit.
8. The filled pumpkin is closed with a pumpkin lid and placed in the oven.
9. Cooking will take about 1 hour at 200 °C. If the skin is hard, keep in the oven for another 20-30 minutes.

For effect, it is better to place the dish on the table as a whole, cutting it on the spot.

Stuffed pumpkin

Pumpkin can be stuffed using different fillings:

• Rice with apples, dried apricots, raisins, cherry plum.
• Meat with onions.
• Cheese with cream and herbs.
• Meat, potatoes, champignons.
• Rice with meat, chicken, lamb.
• Cereals: rice, millet.
• Dried fruits.
• Nuts.
• Buckwheat with pork.

Many housewives are interested in how to cook pumpkin in the oven deliciously and quickly? Perhaps the easiest way is to bake it in pieces. Salty, spicy or spicy pumpkin can be used as a side dish, while sweet pumpkin can be added to porridges, salads and baked goods.

The orange vegetable has a neutral taste, so it goes well with additives such as Provençal herbs, basil, rosemary, garlic and cheese. For desserts, sugar, honey, citrus fruits, apples or quinces, dried fruits, nuts, cinnamon and vanilla are usually used. The preparation is very simple, you need to cut the pumpkin, place it on a baking sheet and bake with the selected additives (or without them) at 180 degrees for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.

Adviсe

1. Late varieties of vegetables, with bright orange and juicy pulp, are best suited for baking. Choose medium-sized fruits. Too large, as a rule, overripe; when baked, they may turn out to be tasteless and “wadding”.
2. To prevent the pieces from sticking to the baking sheet, bake on a sheet of parchment. Large pieces of pumpkin can be wrapped in foil, so they will cook faster and will not stick to anything.
3. If you cook in a baking dish, then pour a couple of tablespoons of water into it so that the liquid lightly covers the bottom, then the pumpkin will not burn and it will turn out juicy.
4. You can bake the vegetable either with or without the peel. In any case, first rinse the pumpkin thoroughly to remove all dirt from the surface, and only then cut it.
5. If the pieces on top begin to burn rapidly, cover them with a sheet of food foil.

Pumpkin baked in pieces in the oven with sugar

Baked pumpkin with sugar is a simple recipe for an easy and very tasty dessert that those with a sweet tooth will surely appreciate. Can be served with a cup of hot coffee or tea, or with milk porridge for breakfast. If you have dark or cane sugar, you can use it, it will turn out even tastier. You can add steamed raisins or half a glass of walnuts, crushed into crumbs.

Ingredients

• pumpkin pulp 300 g
• sugar 1 tbsp. l.
• flower honey 1-2 tbsp. l.
• lemon juice 2 tbsp. l.
• lemon zest 1 tsp.
• ground cinnamon 0.5 tsp.

How to cook sweet pumpkin in the oven

Pieces of baked pumpkin can be served separately or added to porridge, bon appetit!

Pumpkin baked in pieces in the oven as a side dish

Unsweetened pumpkin baked in pieces in the oven with salt and herbs is an excellent side dish for meat. It is imbued with the aromas of Italian herbs, with a slight aroma of garlic. Can be used as a base for salad, cream soup, bruschetta.

Total cooking time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

• pumpkin with peel 400-500 g
• salt 2-3 chips.
• garlic 1 tooth.
• mixture of ground peppers 2 wood chips.
• vegetable oil 1-1.5 tbsp. l.
• mixture of Provencal herbs 0.5 tsp.
• pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds 1 tsp.

How to bake pumpkin slices in the oven

Can be served separately or as a side dish by cutting off the peel. Pairs excellently with goat cheese, basil and arugula in salads and appetizers, or with a light drizzle of honey for a contrast of flavors. Enjoy your meal!

Pumpkin- a fruit that deserves special respect. She is a source of nutrients and a healer of many diseases. One of the advantages of pumpkin is its long shelf life. That is why it is included in the set of strategic products with which you can easily survive not only the long Russian winter, but also the early spring. The most gentle way to prepare pumpkin, preserving its beneficial properties, is baking in the oven, and here you will find out how to choose and how to bake pumpkin correctly. And you will also find caramel ginger syrup recipe, with which baked pumpkin will shine with new colors and make you forget about the most exquisite desserts.

How to choose a pumpkin

The perfect pumpkin is a vegetable round or oval, medium size, weighing 3-5 kg. Even though especially large pumpkins look impressive, they most often turn out to be excessively dry or, on the contrary, watery, and their taste is bitter. The color of the pumpkin pulp should be deep yellow or even orange. Remember that the color of pumpkin pulp depends on the amount of vitamin A in it - the more vitamin, the more saturated the color. The peel should be dense, but not “woody”. It’s good if the pumpkin still has a tail and it’s dry. If the absence of a tail is the only drawback, then such a pumpkin can be cooked, but it will not be stored for a long time. Sometimes pumpkin is sold cut into pieces. When buying such a pumpkin, be careful, because unscrupulous sellers may offer you a rotten and trimmed pumpkin in this form.

A whole pumpkin can be stored at room temperature without damage until spring. Cut pumpkin should be used within a week. If you do not plan to cook the pumpkin within this period, it is better to immediately peel and seed it, cut it into pieces, put it in a bag and freeze it. You can also freeze the pulp of baked pumpkin and then use it for baking.

Step-by-step photo recipe:

Wash the pumpkin and wipe dry. Cut in half and delete seeds with soft membranes. This is convenient to do with a spoon. There is no need to peel the peel. The skin of a pumpkin is very hard and it is quite difficult to separate a raw pumpkin - save your energy and easily separate the skin after baking. In addition, pumpkin baked with the peel has a richer aroma.

If the pumpkin is small, you can bake it in halves. It is better to cut a large pumpkin into pieces. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet, skin side down; it is better to cover the baking sheet with foil or baking paper. If you do not plan to prepare caramel-ginger syrup, then grease the pumpkin with vegetable or melted butter and sprinkle with sugar (you can sprinkle with honey).

If you plan to cook the pumpkin with caramel-ginger syrup, then you do not need to grease it with butter and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake the pumpkin in a preheated oven at 200ºC for 1-1.5 hours. The baking time depends on the weight of the pumpkin, the variety, and even the soil in which it grew. Therefore, after about an hour, start checking the pumpkin for softness with a fork or knife - pierce it and if the pumpkin is soft, it is ready.

The flesh of the baked pumpkin can be easily separated with a spoon or the skin can be cut off and the pumpkin cut into small cubes.

If you baked pumpkin with sugar, then after baking it is ready to eat. For pumpkin baked without any additives, I recommend preparing caramel ginger syrup.

Caramel ginger syrup

You will need:

• sugar 100 g + 1 tbsp. water
• honey 3 tbsp.
• lemon juice 3 tbsp.
• zest of 1 lemon
• grated ginger 50-70 g

This amount of syrup is designed for 500-600 grams of baked pumpkin.

If you're familiar with the ingredients list for caramel ginger syrup, it means you've already baked , in the recipe in which this syrup is added to the dough. The simple but bright ingredients included in it - honey, lemon and ginger - fade a little against the background of the lush pastries, giving them their best qualities. Backing vocal is not bad, but I think that an unusual sweet and aromatic syrup deserves more, so a recipe with pumpkin appeared in my home kitchen. And although pumpkin loves to dominate, here it humbly fades into the background, allowing all the ingredients of the syrup to brightly and harmoniously express themselves in their entirety.
I recommend using fresh ginger root, since dry ginger loses some of its beneficial properties, does not have the characteristic spicy taste and aroma, the same pungency that makes the taste of caramel-ginger syrup unforgettable.

Remove the zest from the lemon - rub the thin yellow part of the peel on a grater. Squeeze out the juice (3 tbsp).

Peel the ginger and grate it on a fine grater- 50 grams of ginger is a piece approximately 3-5 cm long. Ginger improves metabolism and promotes good digestion, so you can put more of it, depending on your taste. The fresh root is perfectly stored at room temperature, you can cut off the required amount as needed, the cut dries out and the ginger does not spoil.

In a frying pan or small saucepan with a thick bottom, melt sugar (100 g) with one tablespoon of water. Stir. The sugar should completely melt and darken, turning into caramel. Add honey (3 tbsp), zest, grated ginger and lemon juice. Mix well and heat for a couple of minutes.

Pour hot syrup over pumpkin pieces and stir. Baked pumpkin with caramel-ginger syrup is a self-sufficient dish that can easily replace any meal; it is also an excellent Lenten dessert or accompaniment to tea.

No one will forbid us to add nuts to such a pumpkin. This is especially true during Lent.

Pumpkin with caramel ginger syrup keeps well in the refrigerator for several days. It can be added to porridge or used for baking. Try this baked pumpkin with caramel ginger syrup.

Pumpkin is an amazing fruit that retains its beneficial properties even after long-term storage. It would not be wise not to include it in your diet, especially in winter and early spring. I hope that caramel-ginger syrup will make those who are indifferent to it fall in love with pumpkin.

Honey 3 tbsp.

lemon juice 3 tbsp.

zest of 1 lemon

grated ginger 50-70 g

Wash the pumpkin and wipe dry. Cut in half and remove the soft-membraned seeds.
Cut the pumpkin into pieces. There is no need to peel the peel. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet, skin side down, and bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 1.5-2 hours.
Peel the cooled pumpkin and cut into small cubes. Pour in the caramel ginger syrup and stir.

Caramel ginger syrup

In a frying pan or small heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the sugar with one tablespoon of water. Stir. The sugar should completely melt and darken, turning into caramel. Add honey, zest, grated ginger and lemon juice. Mix well and heat for a couple of minutes.

In contact with

Baking a pumpkin is a simple task, but preparing for this process has many nuances. Beautiful pumpkins have a tough skin that requires a lot of effort to cut through. You will need sharpened knife with a wide and heavy blade , professionals respectfully call such a knife a chef’s knife. Resist the temptation to grab a serrated knife; it will get stuck in the crust and you could get hurt when pulling it out.

Baked pumpkin salad with arugula from . Watch the video recipe!

Preparing for baking

Place the pumpkin on a non-slip kitchen surface. You can place a silicone mat or towel under the vegetable. Start the cut near the stem and move the knife down, applying gentle pressure . If you cannot divide the fruit in one go, make several successive cuts. If you are going to bake a pumpkin with filling, choose a fruit no larger than medium and cut off the top of it with a “lid”. Small pumpkins tend to have more pulp and fewer seeds, while larger ones not only have less pulp, but it is also watery.

Remove seeds from pumpkin. Any large spoon with pointed edges or a special ice cream scoop will work for this. The seeds can be washed, dried and baked with butter and spices . They can be a good snack, an excellent ingredient for salads, an excellent addition to baked goods and a decoration for creamy soups.

The pumpkin can be baked whole, with or without filling, sliced ​​or peeled and cut into pieces. It should be borne in mind that it is very easy to remove the peel from a baked pumpkin, which cannot be said about a raw one. To peel the vegetable before baking, cut it into slices with a chef's knife. , cut each slice into pieces and only then remove the skin from each piece using a sharp fruit knife.

How to bake pumpkin:

To bake pumpkin, the oven must be preheated to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with foil or baking parchment.

Bake the pumpkin halves with the vegetable cut side down. The pumpkin will be ready in 60-90 minutes, depending on the size.

Remove the finished fruit from the oven, sprinkle with good vegetable oil and let the pulp cool for 10 minutes.

Then remove the skin. Now it will come off almost effortlessly. This pumpkin is suitable for soups, risotto, casseroles, for filling pies and for making puree, which you can put in jars and store in the freezer.

In order to bake stuffed pumpkin, Place the vegetable cut side up on a baking sheet. Bake the vegetable for about 60 minutes without filling, then stuff it and bake for about 40 minutes more, unless the recipe calls for a different time.

Pumpkin cut into slices or pieces can be served for dessert or as a side dish.

How to bake pumpkin for dessert and side dish:

Place the slices on a baking sheet and, using a silicone brush, brush with vegetable oil and sprinkle with spices.

For snack pumpkin, thyme, nutmeg, sage, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom are suitable. Bake for about 20 minutes, turn the slices over, brush and season again, and bake until done.

Place the pumpkin pieces in a bowl with the oil and spices and shake them several times until they are completely coated with the mixture.

Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes. You can serve this pumpkin as a side dish with meat, poultry and fish, or you can also use it as the pulp of a vegetable baked in halves.

Pumpkin is a hearty and very tasty delicacy. You can make a dessert, a side dish, or an independent dish from pumpkin. It is very filling due to the starch. If the variety is unsweetened, you can replace potatoes with pumpkin. Baked pumpkin in the oven- the simplest recipe and I’ll tell you about it today.

The first recipe for baked pumpkin in the oven

You will need:

• Pumpkin of any size
• A head of garlic or a package of granulated garlic
• Salt to taste
• Baking paper

The hardest part is peeling the pumpkin. Sometimes you come across a very hard one and you have to tinker with it. Therefore, I recommend peeling as much pumpkin as possible in advance, putting some in the refrigerator, and freezing some.

The seeds can be dried and then eaten. You can fry them a little with salt or eat them raw.

Cut the pumpkin into large slices and place on paper placed on top of a baking sheet. Top each piece with granulated garlic or add finely chopped fresh garlic cloves (add salt if you like). There is no need to add oil, it will be juicy and satisfying!

Bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes on each side. If you don't have time or don't want to turn each piece, bake on one side for 40 minutes. The pumpkin will still be baked, only the spices will end up on one half.

That's the whole recipe. Remove the pumpkin from the oven, let it cool slightly and you are ready to eat. Baked pumpkin can be eaten cold.

Second baked pumpkin recipe

This is a dessert option.

You will need:

• Pumpkin
• 3 medium apples
• Ground cinnamon
• Cane sugar
• Baking paper

Peel the pumpkin, cut into pieces and place on a baking sheet. Cut the apples into halves, core them and cut into thin slices. Sprinkle the pumpkin with sugar (by eye), cinnamon and place apples on top. Bake in the same way as the first recipe.