The supermarket aisles continue to feature berries, vegetables, and greens throughout the cold months, giving the home cook limitless possibilities for meals regardless of season. However, the home cook values the fresh produce locally in season and relishes seasonal recipes that emphasize our connection to the annual cycles of mother nature.
Pumpkins decorate our homes in October but were bred as sturdy winter squash with good keeping quality for centuries. We all savor pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, but other dishes with pumpkin are less common.
Years ago, I discovered a delicious pumpkin gratin recipe in a French bistro cookbook and a lovely old German grandmother taught me how to make pumpkin strudel. My friend Ingrid first introduced me to pumpkin, bean, and sausage soup several years ago and it has graced our table every fall since then.
Cooking with pumpkin is commonly done with the canned variety, unsuitable for either gratin or strudel, but even the following soup will benefit by baking a pie pumpkin and scraping out the colorful flesh for the soup.
Pumpkin, white bean and linguica soup
Pumpkin, white bean, and linguica soup (Photo courtesy I. Winicov Harrington)
Halve a small pie pumpkin, scoop out the seeds, and wipe the cut surfaces with vegetable oil. Place pumpkin cut side down on a rimmed baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. When cooled, scrape out the flesh and mash or puree with some chicken or vegetable broth to a thick and vibrant yellow puree.
Soak 1/2 cup cannellini in cold water overnight, drain, and cook 40 minutes with a bay leaf and 4 cloves and save for the soup. Alternatively, drain two 15 oz cans cannellini for the soup. Remove the casing from one linguica sausage, slice thinly and set aside.
Saute 1/2 cup chopped onion and 3 minced garlic cloves in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter for 5 minutes, stir in 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms, 1 tbsp oregano, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, 4 cups chicken broth, drained cannellini without cloves and bay leaf, linguica, 1 cup edamame or small frozen lima beans. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup half-and-half and simmer for 15 minutes with stirring. Serve warm garnished with chopped parsley.
Fall is the optimal time for gathering wild mushrooms in the woods or looking for them in farmers markets. Many supermarkets have added shitake and several other kinds to their displays and there are always dried wild mushrooms in a pinch.
Hungarian mushroom soup
Hungarian mushroom soup (Photo courtesy I . Winicov Harrington)
This recipe, adapted from “Food and Wine,” is filled with umami flavors. Soak 2 oz dried porcini and shitake in hot water for 30 minutes. Remove mushrooms and chop in bite-sized pieces, discarding the tough stems of shitake. Strain the soaking liquid through a paper towel lined sieve and set aside.
Saute 1 chopped medium onion in 3 tbsp butter with 8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms and 1 tsp kosher salt for 8 minutes. Stir in 3 tbsp flour (or rice flour, to make the recipe gluten free), 1 tsp thyme, 3 minced garlic cloves, and 2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika. Stir on low heat until flour is well distributed and gradually add 4 cups of chicken broth and the strained mushroom liquid.
Add 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, bring to boil, set heat to medium low, add the rehydrated mushrooms, and cook until the soup is thickened for about 20 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream. Dilute 1/4 cup sour cream with 3 tbsp simmering broth and add this to the soup as well as 2 tbsp chopped dill. Serve hot garnished with fresh dill.
Apple and walnut pie
Apple-walnut pie (Photo courtesy I. Winicov Harrington)
Line a 9-inch pie plate with pre-made crust from the deli. In a small bowl stir together 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and with a pastry cutter blend in 1/4 cup cold butter. Stir 1/4 cup Grape-Nuts in the crumble.
Pare, core, and slice 3-4 large apples. Combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tbsp flour and spread over the pie crust. Layer 1/2 of the sliced apples over the sugar, cover with a layer of chopped walnuts, and top with the remaining apples. Sift 1/2 cup sugar over the apples and then cover evenly with streusel.
Bake in 450-degree preheated oven for 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 35 minutes more. Cool for 2-3 hours before cutting.
(I. Winicov Harrington, of Waldoboro, is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less Than $5.00 a Day: The Smart-Frugal Food Plan” and “Uncharted Journey from Riga.” For more information, go to winicov-harrington.com.)
