zero waste pumpkin soup, pumpkin soup

How to eat an entire squash or pumpkin with nothing wasted!

The season of gourds, ghouls, pumpkins, squashes and ghosts is upon us and there is so much you can do with these colourful fruits other than carving scary faces into them  (I want to call them vegetables, but apparently they are technically fruits). There are loads of recipes out there for how to use them up, but did you know that every part of them is edible and that you can make a zero waste pumpkin soup using it all up?

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The edible parts include the skin, the seeds, the shells of the seeds. Plus the soft, sometimes stringy flesh otherwise known as pulp surrounding the seeds is edible.  You don’t even need to cook them – they are edible raw too!   I didn’t used to know that and I would first gut and chuck the innards of my squash or pumpkin  as well as peeling it before making it into soup or roasting it (or if I did roast it with skin on I didn’t eat it) – what a waste!  Now I make zero waste pumpkin soup instead!

Zero Waste Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Ingredients – serves 6-8

  • 1 medium sized pumpkin or two small squashes with seeds removed but skin left on and pulp retained
  • 3 large onions (or more smaller ones)
  • A large sprig of rosemary 
  • A few bay leaves
  • Two soft carrots (don’t peel!) 
  • 1 large bulb of garlic
  • Pepper (of the seasoning variety)
  • 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock. Can either be homemade or shop bought.

You can increase or decrease the level of zero wasteness (if that’s a thing) of this recipe and cost of making depending on how the ingredients are sourced.

This is how I sourced my ingredients for the soup pictured:

  • The squash and onions were picked at a local pick your own farm. We took our own reusable bags to bring them home with us. You don’t need to go to a farm to do this. You could just take your own bag to the shops and put your pumpkin directly in it.
  • The herbs and garlic were grown in my garden. Plant some garlic cloves now and you can have your own garlic harvest next year!)
  • The carrot was shop bought but needed using up before it went mouldy. You don’t have to wait for a carrot to go soft before adding it to your soup, but the softer they go the sweeter they make the soup, so don’t even think about chucking out soft carrots!
  • We buy pepper in bulk which is not plastic free, but reduces packaging overall and it is more cost effective than buying a little at a time.
  • My stock was not homemade, but if you make your own stock you can take it a step further than me in the zero waste stakes!

Method:

  1. Get out a large stock pot or saucepan. You could also use a slow cooker or a Wonderbag
  2. Give your pumpkin or squash a wash.
  3. Gut the pumpkin or squash. Separate out the seeds from the pulp. Then chop up the pumpkin or squash with the skin on and put it along with the pulp into your pan.
  4. Chop the onions finely. Or if you are short on time just chop them into chunks and add to the pan
  5. Crush the garlic into the pan
  6. Finely chop or food process your rosemary and add into the pan along with the bay leaves which are left whole
  7. Slice the carrots into coins leaving the skin on. 
  8. Add your stock. Make sure all the ingredients are more than covered in liquid and add extra stock if needed.
  9. Season with a little pepper to taste. I don’t like to add salt because there is already salt in the stock, but you may want to.
  10. Put the lid on the pan (very important to retain the heat in the pan and keep the cooking process as efficient as possible). Then bring the soup mixture to the boil
  11. Once boiling turn the heat right down, move to a smaller heat source e.g. a smaller gas ring if you have a gas hob and simmer for at least an hour. Alternatively transfer to a Wonderbag after half an hour of simmering and then leave to continue cooking slowly for 3 to 4 hours.
  12. Once cooked take out the bay leaves and either blitz the ingredients together with a hand blender. 
  13. Serve immediately or leave to cool and once entirely cooled down freeze or refrigerate for later use.

While your soup is simmering you can sort out the seeds. You can save some for planting in your garden next year. Alternatively you can roast them and eat them whole with the skins on! I’m still not sure if I like them or not, but they are strangely moreish and make a satisfying crunch when you bite into them!

Sea salted roasted pumpkin seed recipe

Ingredients:

  • Pumpkin or squash seeds fresh from a pumpkin or squash with shells on, but separated from the pulp
  • Sea salt

Method:

  1. Spread your pumpkin seeds out on a naturally non-stick oven tray (I use this baking tray*)
  2. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. You can buy salt in cardboard boxes in some stores. Be careful to make sure it doesn’t get damp in storage though as otherwise you will end up with soggy salt!
  3. Put in the oven at 180 degrees C for 5 minutes
  4. After 5 minutes turn over the seeds and put back in for another 5 minutes
  5. Check/ turn the seeds again and then put them back in for a final few minutes. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. 
  6. Eat them straight away or when they have cooled down!

There are loads more twists and turns you can take pumpkins and squashes in. So next time you feel inspired to cook one remember that you can eat pumpkin and squash, seeds, pulp and skin. When they are growing the leaves, stems and flowers are edible too! The only bit you don’t want to eat is the dead stalk!

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