Pumpkin Shrimp Curry with Butternut Squash

This dish turned out awesome. And it was a lot easier to make than I was expecting. The longest part was roasting the butternut squash, so if you're a planner and get that done ahead of time, it will be a breeze to make this curry up. 

And, it's such a great fall dish. It's warm and spicy, perfect for enjoying in a cold house! Iowa weather has been teasing us lately. There have been a few frosts, and a few days where it was in the high 40s. But, those are interspersed with sunshine-y 70 degree days. In November! I don't think I've ever experienced a 70 degree day in November before. And, let me tell you, it throws me off. 

Do I make the warm and cozy curry? Or, wait for an actually cold day?

Well, turns out, I had a bit of pumpkin left over (remember the pumpkin soup in a pumpkin, anyone?). So, I'm making curry! This is a great way to use up left over pumpkin. It makes the curry thick, and creamy. Of course, you can use canned pumpkin as well, for a shortcut if you don't have extra roasted pumpkin hanging around.

When I first started simmering this, I thought it looked a little off-color. Not as vibrant as I was expecting. Then I realized, I forgot to add the curry powder. That will make a difference! Don't forget the curry powder!

The left over pumpkin pureed surprisingly well! I was expecting a grainier texture, maybe with a few strings too. But, it came out perfectly smooth. Just like from a can!

The final key to making this curry taste awesome? The garnishes! That's some lime zest, there.

And some browned shallots here. (But, to be honest, I don't think it needs the browned shallots at all. I thought the lime zest was much more flavorful). Alternatively, I think some cashews on top would taste great too.

Pumpkin Shrimp Curry with Butternut Squash
Adapted from Bon Appetit


2 TBSP olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 TBSP minced ginger
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 1/2 c pureed, roasted pumpkin, or 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (careful not to use pumpkin pie filling)
2 c vegetable broth
1 c lite, unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
1 c butternut squash, roasted and diced
1 lb frozen shrimp, tails removed
Juice of 1 lime
Brown rice
Lime zest
Fried shallots (optional)

Start by getting your brown rice cooking (1 cup brown rice to 2 cups boiling water. Cover. Simmer.) and your butternut squash roasting (400 degrees, for about 30 minutes. I cubed the squash first).

While the brown rice is cooking and the squash is roasting, heat oil in large frying pan. Add onion and ginger and cook briefly. Add garlic, continue to cook until fragrant. Add tomato and pumpkin puree and stir. Cook, stirring frequently until pumpkin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. (Note: I think I cheated on this step and didn't really cook the pumpkin that much).

Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder (don't forget this!) and cayenne pepper. Simmer, about 20 minutes.

While this is simmering, defrost the frozen shrimp under warm water.

Add squash, shrimp, and lime juice. Continue to simmer until everything is heated through.

Serve over brown rice and garnish with plenty of lime zest and fried shallots, if desired.

Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin

I've been wanting to make pumpkin soup in a pumpkin for a long time now. Probably more than 2 years. I don't know why I never got around to it. It felt like a daunting task! And, like it would have to cook all day or something. And, who wants to sit around all day waiting for pumpkin soup to cook?

This pumpkin soup, though, was a breeze! It did not take long to throw together, and only 2 hrs of baking time. Not too bad.

I was a bit skeptical of this recipe. It seemed just like broth with a few bread crumbs and cheese. Not much flavor. But, after cooking inside the pumpkin for 2 hrs, it tasted amazing! Kind of like French onion soup, except with pumpkin!

The key is using the right pumpkin. You want one that will stand up to being baked in an oven without collapsing and spilling your soup everywhere. Try a smaller "pie" pumpkin. The big ones for carving I don't think would work as well.

The longest part of the prep time is scraping out the insides of the pumpkin. But, with Halloween just around the corner, there should be a lot of pumpkin carving going on, so you'll be in good practice. Save the seeds too. You can toast them and use them as a garnish over your soup.

Once the seeds and strings are all scraped out, just stuff the pumpkin with stale bread crumbs, some cheese and fill it up with broth.

Put the lid back on and bake it!

My husband and I even went swimming while the pumpkin baked. By the time we were back, we had a nice soup waiting for us!

Here it is ready to go into the oven. I put it in a roasting pan, just in case it leaked. I wasn't quite sure how this was going to go!

Doesn't it look cute with the lid on? I picked out the roundest pumpkin I could find.

Here it is right out of the oven. See the color difference? And, I'm glad I used the roasting pan. There were a few juices that spilled over.

Here's the warm and tasty final product. You just scrape some of the cooked pumpkin up with the serving spoon to put in the bowl. I'll be making this again, for sure. In fact, I've already got another pumpkin ready to go!



Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin
Adapted from Bon Appetit


1 pie pumpkin, about 6-8 lbs
1 TBSP butter
1 tsp fennel seeds, finely ground
2 large pinches of chili powder (about 1/4 tsp)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 c grated Gruyere cheese
1 c fresh bread crumbs (I used a stale baguette)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves (I accidentally omitted these. Still tasted great)
5-7 cups low salt vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a wide circle around the stem of the pumpkin. (Wider is better, because you'll need to get a spoon in there to scrape out the cooked pumpkin, I would cut mine wider next time). Scrape out all the strings and seeds. Separate the seeds and reserve them to toast later.

Rub the inside flesh of the pumpkin with butter. (I found this very difficult to do. The butter didn't really stick to the pumpkin flesh. I'd probably skip this step next time).

Sprinkle the fennel and chili powder all over the inside of the pumpkin. Season with salt and pepper. (I didn't add any extra salt here. There's salt in the cheese, and I didn't think we needed any more).

Fill the pumpkin with the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic and remember the bay leaves!  Then pour the vegetable stock over everything until it comes within a few inches of the top of the pumpkin.

Place the pumpkin on a parchment-lined roasting pan and put the lid on top. Bake in the oven for about 2 hrs, or until pumpkin flesh is tender and "fork-mashable."  Make sure the stem of the pumpkin is far enough away from the heating element that it won't catch fire or anything like that.

Halfway through the cooking time, remove the lid and place it beside the pumpkin for the remainder of the cooking. (Full disclosure: I didn't do this, because we were busy swimming!)

When pumpkin is done, ladle some broth into bowls. Then, scrape the sides and bottom of the pumpkin (be sure not to puncture the skin!) and add some generous portions of pumpkin flesh to the bowls.

Top with toasted pumpkin seeds and maybe a little more cheese to make it look pretty.