Pumpkin is a unique vegetable, combining a lot of nutrients and vitamins. In addition, having a saturated bright color, a pumpkin baked in the oven is able to decorate a table and revive any dish with bright impregnation.
Pumpkin came to us from far away - from North America, it began to grow about 5 thousand years ago, the first settlers. The top of a pumpkin was cut out, cleaned of seeds, filled with milk, honey and spices, and then baked in hot coals. And the Indians simply fried it at the stake, and rugs were made from cut slices of dried pumpkin.
Pumpkin can safely be called a natural vitamin-mineral complex. It’s just a storehouse of nutrients, and the first place in terms of content is occupied by beta-carotene, which is an excellent antioxidant. Pumpkin is also rich in vitamins E, C, PP, B1, B2, and it also contains calcium, iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, cobalt, zinc, fluorine and silicon!
And with all its advantages, it is also an excellent dietary product, which helps to reduce body weight. Therefore, pumpkin in the oven, its recipes are especially popular with those who are prone to obesity or have stomach diseases.
Choosing a pumpkin is better based on the ingredients that will additionally participate in the cooking process. Pumpkin baked in the oven with herbs will be especially good if you take an orange variety with sweet pulp for its preparation. And in conjunction with poultry or meat, a “bottle” pumpkin is suitable. Thick creamy sauces will reveal more taste in yellow pumpkins.
You should not buy the whole fruit, because for two more than enough, a piece weighing one kilogram is enough. In addition, when the pumpkin is cut, you can see if there are a lot of seeds in it.
To make the pumpkin baked in the oven richer and tastier, you can use additional ingredients. It can be either fresh or dried herbs, sauces, spices, or more thorough products - meat or other vegetables.
Baked pumpkin in the oven is very common in a children's kitchen. It is given to children as a first meal, mashed vegetables, soups, casseroles and much more.
Here is a wonderful recipe - pumpkin baked with raisins. He will surely enjoy even the most finicky kids.
So, preparing this recipe you will need:
- pumpkin - 400g;
- raisins light - 50g;
- sugar or honey - 40g;
- milk - 200ml. You can change the amount of ingredients to your liking, something more, something less, the dish will not worsen its taste.
Cut the pumpkin into pieces, sprinkle with sugar and leave for a couple of minutes. Then, in layers of pumpkin-raisins, fill the required container. Pour the contents of the mold with milk so that pieces of pumpkin peek out. In the oven preheated to 180C, put the filled container for 40-60 minutes. As a result, you get a delicate and very delicious dessert.
And if you want to cook something more thoroughly, to your attention pumpkin baked in the oven with meat and buckwheat.
Essential Ingredients:
- pork - 200g;
- buckwheat - 2 tbsp .;
- pumpkin - 1pcs medium size;
- carrots - 1 pc;
- onions - 1 head;
- vegetable oil - 5 tbsp;
- pepper, salt;
- garlic - 3 cloves.
First you need to wash the pumpkin well, and then cut off the top from it so that it looks like a lid. Peel the pumpkin from the inside of the pulp and seeds, leaving the walls up to 3 cm thick, which are rubbed with oil, garlic, pepper and salt. Lay out a layer of buckwheat. Do not forget to salt. We cut the meat into small cubes, if desired, they can be slightly fried, and spread on top of the buckwheat. Fry onions with carrots until golden brown. We report the resulting mass to the first two layers, but so that at least 5 cm remains to the top, since buckwheat will still swell. Add 250g of water, close with a chopped top and send to the oven, preheated to 180C, wait 2 hours, depending on the size of the pumpkin. It can be served in its entirety, or it can be cut into portions.
Bon appetit to all!