The Pumpkin

Scientific name: Cucurbit moschata

The pumpkin is a fruit of the squash and is named after several species of plants in the family Cucurbitaceae. Native to South America, it is cultivated throughout the world as an extremely nutritious and tasty fruit. In Brazil, pumpkin has been cultivated for a long time and was already part of the indigenous diet, long before colonization.

The harvest occurs in the northern hemisphere between September and October, 6 months after it was planted, which coincides with the fall when all nature begins to paint itself in earth tones, and when the Halloween festivities occur, it is the main protagonist of the party with its vast harvests.

By taxonomy, she would be considered a fruit, since she is the ovary of the fertilized flower. Yet in popular tradition, it is prepared as a vegetable and is sometimes used to prepare tasty jams and sweets.

A source of fiber, vitamin C, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and iron, the fruit comes in different shapes and sizes. But in general, they are all delicious, and because they are abundantly cultivated, they are affordable vegetables in most parts of the world.

The story

Due to the adaptation of the Jack O’lantern legend to American folklore. In Ireland, they lit candles inside turnips to ward off evil spirits at the Celtic festival of Samhain, which celebrated the end of summer. The costume would have been brought by immigrants to the US and incorporated into All Hallows Even, giving rise to Halloween. Legend has it that Jack, a man who liked to drink, crossed the devil in his drunkenness and tricked the evil thing several times to avoid being taken to hell. Until the day when, from drinking too much, he died. He was denied entrance to heaven and hell because he had humiliated the devil in life. Since then, Jack wandered with candles inside turnips to light his lost soul. When the Irish arrived in America, they would have realized that pumpkins were more abundant there and began to use them in place of turnips.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredientes:

A pumpkin of your choice

1 onion chopped into small cubes

2 cloves of garlic

2 seedless tomatoes

400 ml of coconut milk

Ginger zest

Chopped lemon grass

Coriander (or parsley)

Directions:

Choose a good, firm pumpkin of about 1 pound to 1.5 pounds. Cook wrapped in foil at 200 degrees Celsius for about an hour.

Allow cooling. Mash with a potato masher

In a separate pan, saute onion, garlic, tomato, salt, and pepper. Add to the pumpkin puree. Then add 1 can of coconut milk, ginger zest, finely chopped lemongrass (or Kaffir, which are dried lime leaves), add a little water if it’s too thick, and cilantro if you like.

Bring to a boil and if it is too thick, add a little water.

Optional put some prepared shrimp in a hot pan on top and olive oil to celebrate this beautiful dish.

Serve hot and warm your heart with this beautiful fruit-vegetable

STORAGE & REHEATING

• Storage: Up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
• Reheating: In the pan or microwave.
• Freezing: Up to one month in the freezer. Thaw naturally, heat in the pan or microwave.