Command Pumpkin! The best recipes from top chefs

By Anja Opitz

Autumn time is pumpkin time!

In the past, the fruit was considered poor people’s food, but in modern cuisine it is valued as the basis for delicious dishes and used in a variety of ways. Also from Berlin’s top chefs!

“There are so many different types of pumpkin, they all have their own special features and invite you to try new recipes again and again,” says Holger Zurbrüggen (56), head chef at the Balthazar 2 restaurant (Spreeufer 2, Mitte, ☎ 30 88 21 56). “With a little chili and ginger, for example, the pumpkin gets an Asian touch, with amaretto and parmesan it is refined for Italian dishes.”

Holger Zurbrüggen has been the manager of Balthazar 2 in the Nikolaiviertel since 2015

Zurbrüggen has been the head of Balthazar 2 in the Nikolaiviertel since 2015 Photo: Parvets

The autumn vegetables, which botanically belong to the berries, are also healthy: they have many valuable ingredients such as potassium, beta-carotene, vitamins C, D and E. And: Because of the high water content (90 percent), 100 grams of pulp have just 27 calories , so you can eat pumpkin dishes to your heart’s content!

Fried tramezzini with Hokkaido filling

Fried tramezzini with Hokkaido filling

Fried tramezzini with Hokkaido filling Photo: Parvets

It’s that easy: Cut the unpeeled pumpkin into small cubes. Cook in the oven with a pinch of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and a little oil. Spread the cream cheese on the tramezzini bread (or two slices of white bread without the crust) and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover with cooked pumpkin, close. to bread a sandwich, d. H. Roll first in flour, then in raw egg and finally in breadcrumbs. Fry on both sides in plenty of clarified butter – crunch!

Pumpkin quiche with stuffed corn-fed chicken breast

Pumpkin quiche with stuffed corn-fed chicken breast

Pumpkin quiche with stuffed corn-fed chicken breast Photo: Parvets

It’s that easy: For the quiche, knead 150 g flour, 130 g soft butter, 1 egg yolk, a pinch of salt and sugar into a smooth dough. Spread out in a greased tart pan, pulling up small edges. Preheat the oven to 200°C top/bottom heat. Heat a little oil, sauté 2 finely chopped leeks, 1 finely chopped onion and half an unpeeled, diced Hokkaido pumpkin, season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the vegetables in the dish. Whisk 3 eggs with 250 g cream, season with salt and pepper. Spread over the vegetables and sprinkle with Gruyère (raw milk cheese). Bake for about 35-40 minutes. In the meantime, dice the other half of the pumpkin and cook in the oven with a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and amaretto. Cut a pocket into the corn-fed chicken breast and fill with the pumpkin. Fry in clarified butter for about 7 minutes on both sides until cooked. Serve with a piece of quiche – and enjoy!

Pumpkin Lemongrass Risotto

A pumpkin lemongrass risotto

A pumpkin lemongrass risotto Photo: Parvets

It’s that easy: Peel a small nutmeg pumpkin and an onion, cut into cubes and sauté both in vegetable oil. Add 60 g risotto rice per person and three times the amount of broth (60 g risotto means 180 ml broth). Add a stick of quartered lemongrass, 1 tsp curry powder and a small dash of coconut milk. Cook for 16-18 minutes while stirring – enjoy your meal!

What can which kind?

There are around 850 pumpkin varieties worldwide. About 200 are edible, the rest are inedible ornamental gourds. We present five delicious edible pumpkins:

Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash: Light orange flesh with a slightly sweet buttery flavor.  Good for: soups, oven squash, pies, canning, in salads

Butternut Squash: Light orange flesh with a slightly sweet buttery flavor. Good for: soups, oven squash, pies, canning, in salads Photo: Idea Cook – stock.adobe.com

Hokkaido

Hokkaido: firm, low-fiber pulp, taste reminiscent of chestnuts.  Shell can be eaten.  Suitable for: soup, puree, risotto, pumpkin pie

Hokkaido: firm, low-fiber pulp, taste reminiscent of chestnuts. Shell can be eaten. Suitable for: soup, puree, risotto, pumpkin pie Photo: PIXbank – stock.adobe.com

Gorgonzola squash

Gorgonzola pumpkin: pulp with a fibrous consistency, fruity and mild, with a light sweet potato aroma.  Suitable for: all recipes in which a pumpkin is to be filled and cooked in the oven

Gorgonzola pumpkin: pulp with a fibrous consistency, fruity and mild, with a light sweet potato aroma. Suitable for: all recipes in which a pumpkin is to be filled and cooked in the oven Photo: tunedin – stock.adobe.com

Nutmeg Squash

Nutmeg pumpkin: bright orange flesh, slightly sweet and sour taste with a note of nutmeg.  Suitable for: raw in salads, cooked in desserts, chutneys, soups, purees or for baking

Nutmeg pumpkin: bright orange flesh, slightly sweet and sour taste with a note of nutmeg. Suitable for: raw in salads, cooked in desserts, chutneys, soups, purees or for baking Photo: Alexander Raths – stock.adobe.co

Patisson

Patisson: tastes like zucchini.  The smaller, the more aromatic and sweeter.  Suitable for: filling or cooking in the oven, very small specimens taste good raw in salads

Patisson: tastes like zucchini. The smaller, the more aromatic and sweeter. Suitable for: filling or cooking in the oven, very small specimens taste good raw in salads Photo: geshas – stock.adobe.com

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