Tips for Using Pumpkin in the Kitchen With Chef Bhatt

Chef Vishwesh Bhatt puts pumpkin at the center of the table.

The other day, as I was watchingthe pumpkin episode of the PBS series The Savers of Flavor, featuring Dr. David Shields and chef Kevin Mitchell, it occurred to me that I had never really eaten a pumpkin. I asked around to see if this might be true for others, and my dear friend Martha Stracener Dantzic agreed: “Sure, we have all had our pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and the occasional pumpkin cheesecake, maybe even a pumpkin donut. Definitely pumpkin seeds. But how many of us have actually cooked with pumpkin? And no, accidentally setting one’s jack-o-lantern on fire does not constitute cooking a pumpkin.”

The episode was about one particular variety called the Dutch Fork pumpkin, native to South Carolina, that’s found as far north as New York and as far south as Louisiana, where it is predictably called the Creole Pumpkin. Pumpkin, like its squash cousin, is an indigenous vegetable and was widely grown and eaten by folks who came and settled this nation. Yet, today as we celebrate 250 years of history, the great American squash has been reduced to an end-of-October meme and an end-of-November afterthought available only in cans unless one goes looking for it. (I am not even going to mention that coffee abomination with pumpkin in its name that starts showing up each fall.)

Let us all pledge to ourselves that we will make a concerted effort to revive the great American cucurbita and find ways to incorporate it into our meals. Following our conversation, Martha invited me to cook in her lovely kitchen. I created the recipe below for the occasion. I hope y’all enjoy making it as well and share it with your friends and neighbors. I believe we can reelevate the pumpkin to its rightful place at the very top of foods to be eaten when the weather starts turning crisp.

Get the Recipe

Cooking pumpkins are available if you look, and they have marvelous names like Fairytale, Cinderella, Casper, Cherokee Bush, and of course, Dutch Fork or Creole. Serve this with a nice crusty bread or corn tortillas and a salad with toasted pecans and cranberries for a perfect fall supper

Recipe by Vishwesh Bhatt

recipe

yields

Serves 4 to 6

ingredients

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast or brisket, cut into 1-inch cubes
  

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt
  

• ⅓ cup neutral oil, divided2 large yellow onions, diced
  

• 2 medium red bell peppers, diced
  

• 8 garlic cloves, sliced thin
  

• ⅓ cup tomato paste
  

• 1 cup tomato puree
  

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  

• 2 tablespoons toasted and crushed cumin seeds
  

• 2 tablespoons toasted and crushed coriander seeds
  

• 4 pounds cooking pumpkin, peeled and diced into 2-inch chunks
  

• ⅓ cup guajillo or New Mexico chili powder
  

• 3 chipotles en adobo, chopped
  

• 1 tablespoon black pepper
  

• 12 cups good-quality, low-sodium beef stock
  

• ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish
  

• ½ cup chopped cilantro for garnish
  

• Crumbled goat cheese for garnish (optional)

steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season beef with 1 tablespoon salt and set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Sear beef in three batches until pieces are all evenly browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer beef to a platter; set aside.
3. In the same pot, add remaining oil, reduce heat to medium, and sauté onion until golden brown. Add bell pepper, garlic, and tomato paste. Cook until paste turns very dark, almost black. Add tomato puree and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and ½ cup water. Simmer until you have a fragrant, thick paste.
4. Now, stir in pumpkin, chili powder, chipotles, black pepper, and stock. Bring everything to a simmer. Add seared beef and remaining salt. Stir. Cover tightly and put the whole thing in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
5. After the hour is up, turn off heat and let your stew rest in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the pot from the oven; it will still be hot. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and goat cheese if using.

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