Pumpkin Passion: Delicious Recipes for Sky Squash
Every year in October, a good part of the Sky greenhouse becomes an all out festive fall pumpkin patch! We source organic and sustainably grown pumpkins, gourds, and squash from just a few special local growers in the Pacific Northwest. Whether you’re looking for the perfect jack-o-lantern to carve before all hallows eve, or a tasty variety to feature in your favorite harvest recipes, we’ve got a great choice for you!
In celebration of fall, which many of our staff love above all other seasons, we decided to gather a veritable cornucopia of recipes and match them up with pumpkin varieties based on their unique flavor and texture profiles. To all the pumpkin lovers out there that we know are just as excited as we are, happy fall y’all!
Jack O’ Lanterns - Ornamental
This is the classic carving variety we all know and love. These larger, smooth and evenly orange ones are the perfect backdrop for your choice of haunting artistry.
Jack-Be-Little - Ornamental
Idyllic and long-lasting mini pumpkins, great tucked into a fall container arrangement, or next to some larger, contrasting gourds. Many people don't know this, but you can roast them too!
Great for: Mini Pumpkin Roast
Cannonball/Sugar Pie
As the name says, these small, smooth ‘cannonballs’ are great for a whole host of halloween decor and crafts, especially for kids! Paint faces or ghastly landscapes on the surface, or do a mini carving project! These last for a long time when stored properly, and are known far and wide as the perfect pumpkin for pumpkin pie.
Great for: Pumpkin Pie | Macaroni & Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin | Pumpkin Flaxseed Dog Treats
Marina di Chioggia
An Italian heirloom (originally introduced to Venice in the 1600s) capable of setting any number of autumnal culinary delights a fire. Don’t be fooled by the witchy-looking bumpy, green blue exterior, inside is dense golden-orange pumpkin meat that’s perfect for ravioli, or dare we say it: pumpkin gnocchi!
Great for: Pumpkin Ravioli | Pumpkin Chili | Gnocchi di Zucca (You'll want to translate the page! )
If you've ever been part of the team at Sky, you will likely have experienced the delicious and distinguished baking and cooking of our beloved staff member Gretchen. Lucky for you, she offered to share a couple of her recipes!
Gretchen's Pumpkin & Sage Lasagna
(Use with any savory/nutty pumpkin)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees,
Grease a 9x13" baking dish
2 tsp olive oil, plus more for greasing pan.
14 oz pumpkin puree
2 cups whole milk
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves, plus 8 whole leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
12 oz box no-boil lasagna noodles
12 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
3 cups shredded fontina cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
16 pieces thinly sliced pepperoni
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, oregano, basil, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. In a separate medium bowl, combine the ricotta, garlic, chopped sage, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread a quarter of the pumpkin sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Add 3-4 lasagna noodles. Layer on half of the ricotta mixture, half of the red peppers, then 1 cup of fontina. Add another quarter of the pumpkin sauce, and place 3 or 4 lasagna noodles on top. Layer on the remaining ricotta mixture, the remaining red peppers, 1 cup of fontina, and then another quarter of the pumpkin sauce. Add the remaining lasagna noodles and the remaining pumpkin sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of fontina on top, then the parmesan cheese. Top with pepperoni.
In a small bowl, toss the whole sage leaves in the 2 tsp olive oil. Arrange on top of the lasagna.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Increase the heat to 425 degrees, remove foil and bake until the cheese is bubbling, about 10 minutes. Let the lasagna stand 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Blue Hubbard
Also known as New England Hubbard, this heirloom dates at least as far back as 1867, when a wash maid named Elizabeth Hubbard supposedly shared the seeds for commercial sale. This large, smooth blue squash has a sweet, slightly nutty taste with fine-grained, golden meat. This one is just marvelous for baking, and in soup, and also can be stored for a long time.
Great for: Pumpkin Soup | Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Gretchen's Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares
(Use with any sweet pumpkin)
Crust:
Nonstick cooking spray
About 20 ginger cookies
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 tb butter, melted
Filling:
11 oz cream cheese softened
½ cup sour cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tb flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup pumpkin puree
3 tb brown sugar
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9” square baking pan with cooking spray, set aside.
Crust: Process the ginger cookies in food processor or blender to fine crumbs; measure 1 cup. Combine in a bowl with the sugar and melted butter. Pat in an even layer in bottom of the prepared pan and bake on center oven rack 7 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.
Filling: In food processor or mixer, combine cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar and flour, blending until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, blending well.
Place ¾ cup of the mixture in a bowl and stir in the pumpkin, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour the plain cream cheese mixture over the crumb layer in the pan. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top and swirl with a fork to make a decorative design. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until firm in the middle when gently shaken. Cool 1 hour before chilling thoroughly.
Cut into squares and enjoy!
Cinderella
A fairytale all wrapped up in a pumpkin, and one that comes to us all the way from France! (There, it’s known as Rouge vif d’Etampes) This is a vivid orange, flatter variety that may obtain a bluish patina that makes it a romantic and whimsical addition to your halloween porch decor. But, this one is also delicious, rich, sweet orange flesh that’s perfect for baking! Some even say that it’s better for pumpkin pie than the famous sugar pie! We’ll leave that determination up to you..
Great for: Pumpkin Pie | Calabaza en Tacha | Pumpkin Lassi
New England Cheddar
It’s a cheese wheel! No, it’s a pumpkin! No wait, are you sure that’s not a cheese wheel? It’s definitely a pumpkin, and a tasty one at that. The insides are sweet, with a high sugar content that makes it perfect for pies, and canning for long term storage! Its pale orange, evenly-lobed appearance also makes it a nice contrast to more wild and crazily colored pumpkins that might be in your decor. Heirloom variety.
Great for: Pumpkin Pie Bars | Pumpkin Spice Syrup (for coffees, drinks and beyond!)
Blue Doll
If Frankenstein’s monster were a pumpkin, he’d definitely be a Blue Doll. This gray-green, yes, almost corpse colored compact variety is the ghoulish porch pumpkin we need this year. Let this one scare away the kids on Halloween, then bring it inside and use it for pies, cakes and soups. The meat is a bright golden hue, with a sweet and slightly nutty flavor…
Great for: Pumpkin Pie | Vegan Pumpkin Pasta | Pumpkin Pancakes
And, for anyone who loves roasted pumpkin seeds, we tried a set of roasting instructions ourselves and fell in love with the simple cinnamon sugar recipe in this post: pumpkin seeds six ways. Of course, you can always save seeds from heirloom varieties above to grow your own starts next year, but don't be surprised if you end up with a cool new variety, as squash and pumpkins hybridize quite readily. Also, you may want to stick with orange and yellow varieties, as blue pumpkin varieties don't grow very well here in the PNW.
Many recipes linked above will say to use a canned or pre-made pumpkin puree but trust us, it's actually quite simple, far tastier, and much more rewarding to make your own from the pumpkin of your choosing. Read on below for instructions!
How to Make Your Own All Purpose Pumpkin Puree
Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, foil or Silpat. Rinse and pat dry the pumpkin. Carefully cut your desired squash or pumpkin from stem to end, but don’t try to cut through the stem. Then, just pull each half apart; the stem should separate as you do this, if not simply cut it off for disposal.
Scoop out the seeds and as much of the stringy bits as you can. Lightly season the inside of the pumpkin halves with salt, then place cut-side-down onto the baking sheet. Bake until the pumpkin can easily be pierced with a knife in several places and the flesh is pulling away from the skin, usually about 45-60 minutes.
Cool until you can safely handle the halves, then separate the skin from the flesh. At this point, you can store the halves to be used in soup recipes, or you can follow along for a few more steps for a multi-functional puree. To do so, scoop the cooked pumpkin into a food processor, blender, or into a mixing bowl to use with an immersion blender — depending on how large the pumpkin is, you may need to do this in batches. Then, process until very smooth, approximately 3-5 minutes.
Store the cooked pumpkin or puree in food-safe containers in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
And there you have it! We hope you have enjoyed this nigh on fanatical tour through the vast and varied pumpkin patch at Sky, and that you feel inspired to try a recipe or two yourself. We certainly have been loving the taste testing, and it's safe to say that we're not even tired of pumpkin yet. Everything is much too delicious! As you celebrate the fall harvest and season, keep in mind that these are just a few of the pumpkin varieties we expect to see at Sky, so come on in and explore even more, plus a host of warty and whimsical gourds!
Written by Sarah Oakes and Laurel Miles. Research by Laurel Miles.