Now the jack o’lanterns have been and gone, how to store the rest of your crop till you’ve got time to make those vats of soup and delicious risotto with sage?
Pumpkins keep a remarkably long time if left somewhere cool and dry — though mine are waiting patiently on a shelf in the kitchen, and they seem fine.
Roasting and freezing is a good way to use the insides of jack o’lanterns. When it comes to roasting pumpkin, there’s no need to chop them up like the TV chefs tell you to. Just cut them in half and bung them in the oven. Cook nice and slowly at, say, 180℃ for an hour or so. And hey presto, they’re much easier to scoop out and skin.
If you just scoop out the flesh, and cut the shell in two halves, you have a fun way to serve soup. Just put the hollowed halves on a plate and Bob’s your uncle.
Please email your recipes and storage tips to sweetpea@fromeallotments.co.uk