Pumpkins are finally all around in the market and it means eating baked pumpkins, boiled pumpkins, braised pumpkins and all possible sweet and savoury, old and new pumpkin dishes. I simply adore pumpkins and dish after dish I've learned how to use it in many ways.
When I was a child I didn't eat pumpkin at all, I didn't like its sweet flavour and I couldn't imagine a savoury dish can be prepared with the sweet vegetable. I remember large fields full of big orange fruits laying idly on the ground and waiting to be piled un in the courtyard. I guess pigs were enjoying the view of piles of orange and crispy fruits, but I was always a bit negative. I liked the colour, the shape and the big size was so amazing to me, but I didn't like the taste of it. The pumpkin was only good to get the roasted seeds to be munched during long winter months...but nothing more, I was strict at that time....then things changed. And changes brought new experiences!
So I started to cook and to experiment all kind of culinary combinations and then I found the sense of the sweet-in-savoury dishes. I embraced pumpkins, let's say it was an inspiring change in my culinary evolution.
To be loyal to my cooking philosophy, I'd like to introduce this year pumpkin season with simple and very basic no-waste idea. Nowadays there are many varieties of pumpkin in the market, not just the big, orange ones that I remember. The best one for me is the green Japanese pumpkin, Kabocha and its seeds are also the best to get your home-made roasted seeds.