- Ali
I love the Autumn. The long nights that have us hunkering down with a mug of cocoa by the wood burning stove. The seasons shift in the colour of the trees and cold crisp days. Then along comes pumpkin season and my joy goes to another level.
I’m happy to carve a pumpkin for Halloween but I’d much rather cook with them! Expect a plethora of pumpkin recipes this year as the UK is experiencing a pumpkin glut! You can substitute them for butternut squash if you don’t have pumpkin but right now is perfcet for a bit of pumpkin fun.
Makes a lovely pale loaf which is perfect with a hearty or a topping of your choice. Or try it slathered in one of my favourite hummus recipes - my beetroot hummus is an amazingly vibrant colour against this corn bread or my carrot and tahini hummus would complement it perfectly.
Ingredients
300g fine cornmeal
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs beaten
300ml unsweetened almond milk
2 tblsp rapeseed oil
300g pumpkin puree
50g pumpkin seeds plus some for sprinkling on the top
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F
Ahead of time – this can be done a day or two before hand. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and remove the seeds and stringy bits. Roast the pumpkin slices in their skins for 30 – 45 mins depending on size and allow to cool. Scrape the flesh out of the skin, puree and set aside. I freeze pumpkin puree in single servings to use in smoothies or to make additional recipes when the mood takes me.
Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F
Line a large 20cm baking dish or tin with parchment paper.
Put the cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl combine the eggs, almond milk and oil and beat to mix together. You should get a fairly smooth but loose batter. Stir in the pumpkin and pumpkin seeds and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared dish or baking tray and bang it on the work surface to distribute the batter evenly around the tin. Sprinkle with more pumpkin seeds if desired.
Bake for approximately 35 minutes until risen and lightly coloured. Leave to cool slightly before slicing into squares
It is delicious eaten warm from the tray!
Alternatives
You can play with this recipe and make a beautiful pink loaf by adding grated beetroot too and add sunflower seeds for a bit of texture too.
If you’ve roasted a pumpkin here’s a few of my favourite recipes to enjoy
Roast pumpkin seeds with fennel and chilli
Substitute pumpkin in this Spicy Thai butternut squash soup.
