I’m not sad that our rafting adventure was cut short: because of the Budapest water police, I was able to travel to new places and make some incredible new friends in Romania before leaving Europe. Through them, I was able to get authentic city (Bucharest), mountain, and countryside experiences during my favorite season of the year: fall. The time at the village house was one of my favorite days of traveling thus far: we sat in old airplane chairs while soaking up the sun, cooked over an open fire, and played ridiculous drinking games with homemade liquor; this was also the first time in my 24 years of life that I was told, “You’re so f*#&ing old” by a teenager, but that’s beside the point. Cooking over an open fire with fresh ingredients from the garden is always a memorable culinary experience, whether you’re the chef or just an eater, and I wish that we would have thought to do this when we were cycling across Europe. Working with what we had, I put together a (damn good) pumpkin stew, which I refined two weeks later with the help of my Ma’s modern culinary tools (and the grocery store). Enjoy!
Prep time: 25-30 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 c pumpkin “innards”
- 5 c water
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chives
- 5 small sage leaves, finely chopped
- 2 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
- 5 garlic gloves, crushed or finely chopped
- 1/3 c cream (optional)
- 1 oz walnuts, crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2/3 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/3 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/174 Celsius. Chop the top off of your pumpkin, and scoop the innards out. Separate the membranous bits from the seeds, and scoop out a centimeter or so of the newly hallowed pumpkin. Set seeds aside on a baking tray to dry for a few minutes; then, lightly salt them and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add garlic, sage, and rosemary, and cook for a minute before adding the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. The pumpkin innards will break down, but you can hand blend the broth to create a silky, creamy soup. Serve hot and garnish with a sage leaf and chives.
Yields 5 servings
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