Roasted Pumpkin

Are you a fan of the spooky season? Me too! And what better way to start it than with some nice Roasted Pumpkin?

This is not just that magical time of the year where we all get to be the fabulous witches that we are but pumpkins are finally in season and I just can’t wait to start making all sorts of earthy meals – or should I say potions – with this tasty vegetable!

Pumpkins are incredibly versatile: you can use them for sweet or savoury dishes. You can blend them into drinks or bake them into delicious biscuits. But, how do you make sure the pumpkin you just bought is prepped and ready to be used in your many fabulous dishes?

That’s where the Roasted Pumpkin recipe comes in. Every time I make something with Pumpkin I always go through this roasting/baking process first. It’s easy and quick, and will leave you with perfectly cooked pumpkin chunks to enjoy as a snack or to blend into your autumnal meals!

Roasted Pumpkin: A Bit of History

Pumpkin is one of the oldest domesticated plants in the world and it’s been part of humans diets for centuries. It’s native to Central America where Native Mesoamericans would cultivate them and other squash well over 7000 years ago!

Native Americans would farm Pumpkins mostly for their flesh but they also mastered ways to cook the Pumpkin’s seeds and skin. And – you guessed it – one of the most common ways they cooked pumpkins was to roast them in open fires. So it’s safe to assume Native Americans are the forefathers of Roasted Pumpkin!

Nowadays, we can cultivate Pumpkins and Squas all over the world. However, we only really started seeing them in Europe in the late 15th century. When Christopher Columbus came back to Spain after officially starting what we know being the European colonization of the Americas.

In fact, “Pumpkin” is a recent term too and stems from the Greek pepōn (meaning Melon) which then mixed with the Latin peponem and then once again with the French pompon…will eventually become Pumpkin! 🎃However, the native word, is wasawa, and it refers to both Pumpkin and Squash.

So, while Europe savoured this new fruit and learned to roast, bake and stew Pumpkins in their own ways. European Settlers in North America learnt from Native Americans how to cultivate and eat Pumpkins later in the 17th century. This shot Pumpkins into Fame and a whole lot of fantastic recipes were born. Including, Pumpkin Pies, Pumpkin soups and Pumpkin Breads! Recipes that not only Americans but people all over the world still cook and enjoy today.

In all these recipes, Roasted pumpkin is still the first step and the first dish every little pumpkin lover learns to make and eat. 😋

Therefore, grab your pumpkin or squash and let’s get you some delicious and versatile Roasted Pumpkin to enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin

Bean

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Course Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, European

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

1 Oven tray with baking paper
1 Tongs

Ingredients

1 Medium pumpkin or squash
Extra virgin olive oil If you prefer a less expensive oil, rapeseed or sunflower oil work too.
Salt

Instructions

First of all, preheat your oven on the fan settings at 180 degrees centigrade. Wash the pumpkin, deseed and cut into medium chunks leaving the skin on. Make sure the chunks are all similar in size for even cooking. Cover a large baking tray with baking paper and evenly distribute the pumpkin chunks on the tray.
Drizzle with Extra virgin olive oil, add salt to your taste and toast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flip the chunks over halfway through the baking to make sure both sides of the pumpkin pieces "caramelise".
Once the pumpkin is fully cooked, take the tray out and leave to cool for 30 minutes or so. After this time has passed, you can peel the pumpkin skin off. It should come off easily after baking, if not use a small knife to make small cuts around the harder parts. Your Roasted Pumpkin is ready for you to enjoy as it is or use in many other recipes!