OCTOBER 29, 2009 ISSUE
Mountain Living
Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Hill was filled with Batman, Black Japanese Futsu, Blue Jarrahdale, Cotton Candy, Gurney Giant Magic, Marina Di Chioggia, Kakai, Orange Dawn, Rouge Vif D'etamps, Speckled Hound, Speckled Pup, Sweet Keeper and Tondo pumpkins this fall.
Lowell and I spent all of one beautiful day last May planting beans and peas, lettuces and beets, carrots and spinach, corn and cucumbers. For no particular reason the pumpkins were left until last. Although we have a rather large garden, the other vegetables, herbs and flowers filled most of the spaces and there certainly was not room for sprawling pumpkin vines.
The dilemma was complicated because, as I ordered seeds from various places, we ended up with more than a dozen different pumpkins. Finally we cleared a separate space and planted Pumpkin Hill just before the predicted heavy rains fell and started everything growing beautifully. Some did better than others, but we ended up with a hillside covered with giant vines and leaves including heirloom warty Marina Di Chioggias, deep Black Japanese Futsus, Jumbo Pink Bananas, deep red rouge Vif D'etamps and sparkling white Cotton Candies. Although we do have big orange ones to carve, we mostly selected pumpkins that have delicious insides.
One variety new to us is Speckled Hound. I picked it because the catalog said the outside is blue, green, yellow, orange and pink. Who could resist that? They really are beautifully colored and, as advertised, the insides are smooth and sweet.
Most of the pumpkins you purchase for carving are not very good to eat, although you can plant your own Triple Treat or gurney Giant Magic and have both. Ask for a pie pumpkin if you want to cook it. How to cook a pumpkin is one of the most asked questions. It is not difficult. One of the easiest ways is to bake it whole. That way you don't have to peel it raw, which can be quite challenging. Remove the stem, place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until soft. That can take about 45 minutes for a small pie pumpkin, and up to two hours for a giant one. Let cool and it is easy to remove the seeds, stringy insides and the peel.
Puree in the food processor and, if it is watery, cook over very low heat with a tablespoon of butter until it is thick and ready to be made into pies or pancakes. It smells delicious baking and is very satisfying, but canned pumpkin is also a great product and can be used anywhere you would use fresh.
Day After Halloween Pumpkin Pancakes
Add pumpkin and spices to a basic buttermilk pancake and your home smells like a holiday. You can melt butter to use instead of the oil, if you like, and canned or fresh pumpkin is fine. If you cook your own pumpkin you want it to be very thick and not watery, so simmer it until it thickens if you start out with runny pumpkin. Buttermilk adds great flavor, improves texture and keeps almost forever in the refrigerator, so go ahead and buy some for the pancakes and plan to use it for biscuits or more pancakes later. If you are doing this Sunday morning and don't want to go to the store you can 'sour' milk by adding about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk. Stir and let sit for a few minutes until it thickens. The pumpkin and the spices are so warm and sweet that we like pancakes without any additional sugar. Most people are used to pretty sweet flapjacks so adjust the amount of sugar to fit your family. This is a good place to use whole grains, even if your family is still getting used to them. You can try 'white whole wheat' flour for great nutrition without an overly 'grainy' flavor or texture. A tablespoon of spices makes a pretty assertive pancake so cut back or add even more if you enjoy extra spicy foods.
Ingredients:
Optional: 1 cup pecans
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk (may need more later)
1-1/2 cups fresh cooked or canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
Optional: 1 cup raisins
2 cups white, whole wheat (or half and half) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Butter for cooking
Butter and maple syrup or applesauce for serving
Preparation:
If you want nuts in your spiced pancakes, heat a skillet over medium heat. While it is heating, chop the pecans. Cook in the dry pan, stirring frequently until the nuts are very light brown and beginning to smell nice and toasty. Remove from the pan and let cool.
If you have two large bowls with pouring spouts or two large (one quart and two quart) glass measuring cups use them, but any bowls will be fine.
Put the oil, eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin, vanilla, salt and sugar into the smaller bowl. Beat with a whisk until everything is very well mixed and you cannot see any egg. Whisk again for a couple of minutes then add the raisins.
Put the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the larger bowl and mix well. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the flour mixture and mix gently until everything is combined, then stop! Do not beat or over-mix.
You can cook the pancakes as soon as they are mixed but they will be better if you make the batter and let it rest in the refrigerator. Just 30 minutes will help and you can make this a day or two ahead if you like. Make the batter anytime this Saturday. Let your children cook a pumpkin and make this while they wait and wait until it is time to put on their costumes.
Then, Sunday morning, or whenever you are ready to cook your pancakes, gently stir in the pecans—if using the nuts—and heat your griddle to about 350 degrees. If you are using a nonstick surface you want to put a very thin coating of butter on right before you cook the pancakes, but use more butter if your pan does not have a nonstick coating.
The batter should be the consistency of thick cream. If you were able to let the batter sit for hours that means you will have a wonderful pancake because the flour and the raisins have absorbed the liquid and everything has come together. You may need to thin the batter, especially if you let it rest for a long time. Add additional buttermilk until you have the right consistency.
Spoon the batter onto the griddle and let cook on the first side until bubbles have come to the surface and popped. The pancake will also have gone from having a glossy appearance to a matte finish. Flip and cook until the second side is golden brown, which should only take a couple of minutes.
Serve immediately while they are piping hot. They are spicy and golden and delicious plain but you can also serve them with a little pat of butter and a dollop of maple syrup. We enjoyed ours this fall with warm applesauce and the combination was absolutely autumnal.
To make a comment, ask a question or find out more about sources, contact Amy at amycookehcp@bellsouth.net.
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