Pumpkin Sauce - 3 tips

I know it's not pumpkin season yet but it is the time to grow them if you want them for later.  We love squash of all kinds from zucchini and crooked yellow neck to butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash. From pattypan to delicata and long of Naples.

We eat it sautéed, roasted, in pancakes and breads, and any way I can figure out. I also buy it canned from Trader Joe's.  we like to put half a can or so when we make pancakes or French toast. Sometimes i use the leftover milk and egg batter to make pumpkin pots de creme or baked custards. 

Last year we loaded up on some organic heirloom varieties from a nearby farm. I roasted a few and made homemade pasta sauce. It made a huge batch which I froze and we've been enjoying it ever since.

Here are 3 ways in which you could attempt it. 

1- Buy a jar of ready made good quality Marinara or basic pasta sauce and add a can of pumpkin purée to it. Combine and cook for 15-20 min. Simple, easy, and quick. 

2- Make homemade pasta sauce with canned tomatoes, onions, carrots, and celery, and add canned or roasted pumpkin purée and cook for 2-3 hours. You will want to look up a recipe for a pasta sauce. This is somewhat simple but lengthy. 

3- Use fresh tomatoes and make your own pasta sauce similar to above and use roasted pumpkin and purée it. This is  a solid 2 day process but well with it. 

I did not have fresh tomatoes at the time I made my pumpkin sauce so I made it as step 2. I may attempt step 3 this year if I have enough tomatoes from my garden. 

 This was a few years ago when making homemade pasta sauce from the garden tomatoes.

I've used it as pasta sauce with sausage or ground beef which the kids loved. I've also used that sauce to make "sloppy joe's". It wasn't well received by the kids this way.  I hope to try it in risotto and on pizza as well. I'm happy with this sauce because its easy once you have 5-7 jars sitting in your freezer, and it's loaded with veggies and fiber. It's a bit of work but well with it on those hurried days. 

The "sloppy Joe's" we made with the pumpkin pasta sauce.  Didn't look good but tasted amazing.  A little on the wet side for the bread but perfect for pasta.

Hope you get to try it and experiment with any of the above steps and with all the varieties of pumpkin and squash out there! 

Next venture- try all this with roasted sweet potatoes instead! I do wish I had space to grow them.

 I tried to make my own homemade pumpkin latte, too gritty.

 Pumpkin french toast stuffed with marscapone and berry compote.

 Pumpkin pots de creme with berry compote.

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