5 delicious pumpkin recipes to warm up the autumn days

700g pumpkin (skin and seeds removed)

1/2 cup of cooked brown rice

50g mix of green peas, sweet corn and diced carrots

400ml coconut milk

700ml hot water

Sea salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil

1 sprig of rosemary

1. Slice and steam the pumpkin until it’s cooked through (you can also do this by putting the sliced pumpkin under high heat in a microwave for five to six minutes).

2. Place the pumpkin, brown rice, peas, sweet corn, carrots, coconut milk, hot water and salt and pepper in a blender and blend until thick and even.

3. Warm up the olive oil in a small pan on low heat. Put the rosemary in and stir until fragrant, then stir the oil and rosemary combination into the soup.

4. Drizzle with an extra spoonful of coconut milk to serve. Garnish with watercress or mint leaves if you like.

150g light flour (non bread flour)

75g unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

45ml milk

350 pumpkin mash (cooked)

3 egg yolks

20g unsalted butter (melted)

90g light cream

20-40g granulated sugar to taste

1 tablespoon of rum

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1. Whisk the egg yolk with the butter until the mixture is light and fluffy.

2. Sieve flour into the mixture and blend with your hands. The dough should be fairly soft to the touch. Add a dash of cold milk if it’s too hard.

3. Bring the dough together into a ball, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for an hour (or overnight if possible).

4. Once the dough has set, roll it out into a 3mm thin sheet. Cut round shapes out of the pastry that are the same in diameter as your pastry tins. Place the round pastry shapes firmly in tins. Use a fork to poke holes in the pastry so it bakes evenly.

5. Place in a preheated oven (200 degrees) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until even.

2. Once the pastry has cooled, fill tins up by carefully spooning in the filling mixture. Put the tartlets back into the oven and bake at 180 degrees for another 10 minutes.

3. Let the tarts cool before serving. Enjoy!

Fresh pumpkin seeds

Sea salt

1. Remove seeds from the pumpkin and rinse with water, then dry them with a tea towel.

2. Preheat the oven to 150 Celsius. Spread them out on a baking tray with even spaces between seeds. Bake your batch for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 120 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.

3. Let the seeds cool before serving or storing in airtight containers. Sprinkle with sea salt once dry if you like.

'Great as a main dis h for the family to enjoy this fall, the fried rice in this recipe gives it a hearty kick while the edible pumpkin bowl adds a naturally sweet flavour. A must-try.'

One small pumpkin (for serving)

3 dried shiitake mushrooms

40g uncooked bacon

80g cooked brown rice

160g cooked basmati rice

Salt and light soy sauce to taste

Water

1. Soak the mushrooms in filtered water overnight for at least six hours. In the morning, slice the softened shiitake into strips. Keep the shiitake water.

2. To make the pumpkin bowl, cut off the upper third of the pumpkin, then remove the seeds from the lower two-thirds and wash. Steam and set aside the pumpkin to be used as a container. To make the fried rice, dice the bacon and fry in a wok over low heat, stirring every so often to ensure enough grease is released to cover the bottom of the wok. Add the brown rice, basmati rice and shiitake to the wok and stir-fry for two to three minutes.

3. Pour the rice mixture into a pot (ideally clay). Stir in salt, soy sauce and the shiitake water to taste. Make sure the rice mixture doesn’t have too much water in it to avoid a soggy texture.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove then simmer on low heat for five minutes (with the lid on.) Remove from heat and let the rice cool for another 15 minutes.

5. Scoop rice into the steamed pumpkin bowls and serve hot. Add garnishings like parsley or coriander if you want.

'This dessert is inspired by a Chinese and Japanese sweet called yang geng (羊羹) which is traditionally made with chestnuts, sweet peas or sweet potatoes. Perhaps most similar to fudge, these cakes go nicely with green tea.'

300g pumpkin (skin and seeds removed)

10g gelatin sheet (vegetarian: 10g of agar)

30g granulated sugar

1. Soak the gelatin sheet in cold water until it softens.

2. Cook the pumpkin by steaming or microwaving. Drain and mash together with the granulated sugar.

3. Place the softened gelatin sheet in a pan over low heat until the sheet has completely dissolved. Once that is done, stir the liquid gelatin into the sweetened pumpkin mash and mix well.

4. Place the mixture into the fridge and let it chill for two hours or more until it sets.