Pumpkin: The Ingredient Edit

by RICHARD BAGGULEY & Charlie Hibbert

Of autumn’s wine, now drink your fill; The frosts on the pumpkin, and snows on the hill.

-The old farmers almanac, 1993

From a gardener’s perspective:

I love pumpkins, and in the kitchen garden at Thyme we grow a several varieties including Celebration, Casperita, Crown prince, Jack Be Little, Sweet Lightening, Maria di Chioggia and my favourite, ‘Berrettina’ Priest’s Hat, which makes the perfect winter warmer soup.

We get the pumpkins in the ground as seedlings in April and keep them well watered and weeded, watching them grow and turning them with care to encourage an even shape.

The time to pick the pumpkins is when the skin turns a deep solid colour and the stem hardens, when you give the pumpkin a tap, the rind feels hard and sounds hollow.

Pumpkins have been grown in North America for almost 5000 years! Whether you are carving them or eating them, they have become an autumn favourite. 

From a chef’s perspective:

Pumpkins are the classic winter ingredient. Seen on menus across the country, the are fabulous in soups, simply roasted atop polenta, or pickled and served with cheeses, pates and rillettes. We have so many come out of the garden, from butternut and onion squash, to the big blue skinned crown princes. They store well through the winter and we put them to good use throughout the colder months.

Charlie Hibbert’s burrata, onion squash & hazelnut pesto

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