Roasted Pumpkin and Chipotles Puree

Thanksgiving is already over but I would like to share here one dish that I made on Thanksgiving. It was a roasted pumpkin and chipotle puree, that turned out really, really delicious.

Using a technique I learned from Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa of Ideas in Food I roasted a pumpkin whole in a convection oven at 325F for about an hour and a half. The pumpkin I used was a French heirloom variety, that in our area has come to be referred to as a “peanut shell” pumpkin because of the odd textured patterns on its exterior that look like peanut shells. It's real name, however, is ‘Brodé Galeux d’Eysines’ (Cucurbita maxima). Once the pumpkin finished roasting I left it out to cool before cutting it in half and removing most of the seeds. The flesh was then easily scooped out and placed in a Vita-Mix blender.

Vita-Mix blenders are a major step up from home blenders. I'm not sure that a regular home blender or even a food processor would have done the job that the Vita-Mix did. I did not worry about scrupulously making sure that all the seeds had been removed from the flesh as I placed it in the blender, knowing that the Vita-mix would make short work of the outer coat, which it did. I was tempted to put more of the also-roasted seeds in for body and flavor, but I did not want to push my luck. Next time I will add more. 

 

To the pumpkin flesh I added a short pour of maple syrup, the pulp of a vanilla bean, cinnamon shards, freshly grated nutmeg, salt and a Mexican dried chipotle, filling the container nearly to the top with all the ingredients. I then blended the mixture to a fully smooth consistency. The combination worked  nicely with enough chipotle to add complexity, flavor and a touch of heat with overwhelming the other components. The puree proved a popular accompaniment to the rest of the Thanksgiving meal, but with tweaks could be used for other purposes. Thinned out a bit with chicken stock or some other liquid, it would make a delicious soup. It could also be made a touch sweeter and with the addition of hydrocolloids, a nice dessert component.