Styrian Pumpkin Muffins
Tina
9/15/2009 9:32:00 AM
Last Tuesday in our Misty Meadows CSA share, we received a Styrian pumpkin, aka a Naked Pumpkin. It's a cute little thing. Ours was about the size of a slightly large sugar pumpkin with orange and green stripes. The "naked" designation refers not to the pumpkin shell, but to the seeds.
Being curious about the background of this unusual vegetable, I ran several internet searches. The sites that came up most often referred to the oil that is extracted from the seeds. The oil is definitely not cheap - I found it on Amazon for $26.15 for 2 8.5 ounce tins - but it packs a nutritional wallop with Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Zinc and the essential fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6.
Since the pumpkins are grown for their seeds, there aren't a lot of Styrian-specific recipes that use the flesh of the pumpkin. Growers often simply discard the flesh. I was determined to use the whole thing.
First I chopped the thing in half to see what I was dealing with. Inside were the glistening seeds - green rather than cream-colored like other pumpkin seeds.
I removed the seeds and scraped out the stringy pulp. I oiled the flesh and placed the halves cut side down on a cookie sheet. It took about 45 or 50 minutes at 350 degrees for the flesh to be fork tender. After allowing it to cool for a few hours, I scooped the flesh out with a spoon into a measuring cup. After all was said and done, I had about 3 cups of pumpkin flesh and one cup of seeds.
I bit into a seed - I had half expected it to be filled with a pocket of oil, but it was just a tender, slightly crisp, pumpkin seed. What was most striking was missing. I like roasted pumpkin seeds, but I'm not terribly fond of the outer hull that feels a little like you accidentally bit into a stick along with your seed. The cooked flesh itself was just a mild, bland pumpkin-y flavor. Even my 4yo took a bite and said it was fine.
So I pulled out some cookbooks and my favorite recipe sites and spliced together a pumpkin muffin recipe. I wouldn't bother making this pumpkin into a pie - I think it's too bland. But breads are just fine. I didn't bother to puree the flesh, I simply mushed it up a little with a fork.
They turned out really yummy. My husband loved them. My 4yo took a bite and said she didn't like the seeds. Then the next time I turned around she'd eaten the entire thing and was chewing on the muffin paper. The teens weren't around at the time, but when I got up the next morning one of the two containers of muffins I'd left sitting on the kitchen counter was empty so I'm assuming they went over well. I think next time I'll add more raisins and fewer chocolate chips.
Pumpkin Seed Muffins
(yield - approximately 24-30)
4 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1.5 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups cooked pumpkin flesh
2 cups all purpose white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 cup Styrian pumpkin seeds
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix eggs, oil, brown sugar & vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, salt & spices.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Fold in the pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips & raisins.
Spoon into oiled or lined muffin tins and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. A knife inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean.
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