No Hokkaido is ever wasted

Let the pumpkin do the talking and meet a humble all-in-one champion.

I love hokkaido squash. You can tell when you read my recipes. Or if you’re a guest in our home. These bright orange guys are so versatile – and delicious, of course – that I always have one or two around the house. Plus, they’re easy to store. You can keep them whole on the kitchen shelf, for example, or put them in the freezer in slices.

But even after searching for a really long time, I couldn’t find anything to do with the seeds or the inside flesh of the pumpkin.

After a long, frustrating period of throwing away the pumpkin seeds and flesh, neither of which looked very tasty, I decided to make a change. I was cutting up a hokkaido for a stew: I put the seeds and flesh of the hokkaido in the stockpot with other vegetable scraps to make a broth. I browned it a bit with canola oil, added hot water, brought it to a boil, and let it simmer for a while. Then I seasoned and salted it.

The broth I got was amazing. It turned out that the flavor and fat from the inside of the pumpkin gave the broth something unique. They thickened the dish, made it more floury, and gave it a subtle nutty flavor. At the same time, it reduced the amount of fat that needed to be added. So now I always use the seeds and inner flesh directly and make a broth with them, or freeze the seeds and flesh to use later.

By the way, if you still have some space in the garden. Use it to sow or plant a Hokkaido pumpkin. You will find that you can also eat the flowers (cooked, fried, used in condiments). And the bees adore the huge blossoms. I just love this plant with the art nouveau leaves and flowers and the beautiful gourd balls at the end of the harvest season.

A great red-orange treat – like a beautiful summer sunset.

The broth I got was amazing.

Side Notes:

• You can store Hokkaido on your kitchen shelf in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Use it before/when the outer crust becomes soft (looks kind of waxy) and/or develops small black spots (both signs of decay). Cut out soft or black parts before using (e.g. cut and freeze, store flesh, inner flesh with seeds and crust separately).
• Check your local calendar for the availability of fresh hokkaido squash (best source: farmers market). You can usually get them fresh from late spring to mid-fall, depending on the temperature. However, you can get them in grocery stores almost through the end of winter because they are easy to store.
• Because we like to eat the crust, I always buy out-of-season stored hokkaido squash at organic food stores.