Canned pumpkin: Fruit of the can

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Tired of the same old pumpkin pie?

Take a tip from top chefs and grab a can opener. The contents of a can of pumpkin puree can also be used to produce a sweet Baked Pumpkin Brulee French Toast or a savory Chicken and Pumpkin Tagine.

The Star recently asked four Kansas City, Mo., area chefs _ Beth Barden of Succotash, John and Sarah Williams of PotPie and Wendy Rudderforth of Pangea Cafe _ to share their favorite recipes using canned pumpkin.

Thumb through any food magazine, from Bon Appetit to the Food Network Magazine and Fine Cooking, and the recipes almost exclusively call for canned pumpkin thanks to a field-to-can freshness that chefs can count on.

Even if you prefer to make most of your feast from scratch, take a tip from these local chefs and put canned pumpkin on the shopping list.

Libby's grows its pumpkins on 4,000 acres of farm ground in Morton, Ill., the self-proclaimed Pumpkin Capital of the World. The fields are dedicated to growing the Select Dickinson pumpkin, a special variety the company developed for its "delicious taste, creamy texture and pleasing orange color," says Roz O'Hearn, manager of marketing communications.

Libby's has been canning pumpkins since 1929. Every pumpkin is canned the same day it is picked. That kind of consistency and convenience are primary reasons to reach for the can.

For starters, the water content of pumpkins varies; some are thick and creamy when baked and pureed while others are thin and watery. Sometimes the pulp purees into a silky pudding-like consistency, but sometimes the pulp remains fibrous.

Also, baking a pumpkin from scratch takes several hours. The fruit must be washed and cut and the seeds removed. It must be baked, then peeled and pureed. On a weekend day spent at home, it is a relatively easy _ and yes, fun _ process. But most cooks this time of year are busy making oodles of other dishes.

Versatility is an important reason chefs are drawn to the flavor of pumpkin in the first place. "It's a fabulous fall starch," Beth Barden says. "I use it in soups, curries, pancake batter, milkshakes, tapioca puddings, flavored butters for muffins. It keeps its color, helps keep dishes moist and is an additive to cut fat instead of butter or oil."

You can dress it down _ stirring it into hearty chilies, stews and soups. Or fancy it up, fashioning it into roulades, candies and pies, topped with a pearly dollop of whipped cream.

And now that the Thanksgiving holiday countdown has begun, to-do lists are getting longer and the stress-level is creeping up.

"There is so much other stuff to do around Thanksgiving, it makes your life so much easier," says Wendy Rudderforth, co-owner of Pangea Cafe. "With pumpkins, you have to find the right ones _ not the ones for decorating _ the ones for cooking."

PotPie executive chef John Williams likes to include pumpkin in ethnic dishes because the familiar flavor of pumpkin helps make unfamiliar ingredients or dishes seem more familiar.

Pumpkin pairs as well with savory spices such as sage and rosemary, crushed red pepper and cayenne as it does with sweet accompaniments such as brown sugar, molasses and rum.

When buying pumpkin puree, be sure the label says it is 100 percent pure _ no additives, no preservatives, no pumpkin pie spices.

___

BAKED PUMPKIN BRULEE FRENCH TOAST

Makes 8 servings

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)

4 large eggs

4 egg yolks

ľ cup granulated sugar

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of salt (or more for taste)

1 (2-pound loaf) egg bread, cut into ľ-inch slices (about 20 slices)

Ľ cup brown sugar

Whipped cream and raw sugar or confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Butter a 10-inch springform pan and wrap the outside with aluminum foil.

Combine the milk, cream and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until warm but do not boil; remove from the heat and let mixture sit about 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and pour mixture into a large bowl. With a knife, carefully slit open the bean and scrape in the seeds. (Save the pod for future use. Barden pats it dry and puts it in superfine granulated sugar and uses that to flavor coffee.)

In a separate mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs and yolks until light and frothy. Add the granulated sugar and whisk eggs until pale and fluffy. Slowly stir a small amount of egg mixture into the cooled milk mixture; do not rush the process or the eggs will curdle. Whisk in the pumpkin, ginger and salt.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dunk each slice of bread into the egg custard and then, slice by slice, arrange slices in the springform pan, overlapping the layers. Slowly pour the remainder of the mixture into pan. You should have at least 1/3 to ˝ of the egg mixture left. Let sit30 minutes.

Place the springform pan inside a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with hot tap water until it reaches about halfway up pan sides. Bake about 90 minutes until the center is firm but not hard. During the last 10 or 15 minutes, sprinkle about Ľ cup of brown sugar on the top and raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. The finished product should have a consistency similar to a quiche. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Allow the French toast to cool about 20 minutes before sliding a knife around the edge of the pan to unmold. Garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of raw sugar or dusting of confectioners' sugar.

Per serving: 625 calories (36 percent from fat), 25 grams total fat (11 grams saturated), 319 milligrams cholesterol, 81 grams carbohydrates, 18 grams protein, 657 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

___

PUMPKIN RAVIOLI WITH SAGE BUTTER

Makes 18 large ravioli

3 ˝ cups canned pumpkin puree

1 (15-ounce) container whole ricotta cheese

˝ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 ˝ cups mozzarella

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

˝ teaspoon garlic powder

Ľ teaspoon white pepper

Brown sugar to taste

20 small wonton wrappers, at room temperature

Sage butter:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

16 small fresh sage leaves

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup chicken stock or reduced salt broth

Salt and pepper to taste

For the ravioli: In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, parsley, sage, nutmeg, salt, garlic powder, white pepper and brown sugar and mix well. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling between two wonton wrappers, dampen edges by moistening fingers with water and running along the edges and seal well. Drop ravioli into salted, simmering water; remove when ravioli floats to top, about 3 minutes.

For the sage butter: Melt butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add sage leaves and minced garlic; saute for about 30 seconds. Slowly add chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle sage butter over ravioli and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.

Per serving (per ravioli): 201 calories (30 percent from fat), 7 grams total fat (4 grams saturated), 25 milligrams cholesterol, 26 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams protein, 421 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

___

CHICKEN LEG AND PUMPKIN TAGINE

Makes 6 servings

12 chicken legs

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

Ľ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 red onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

2 to 3 cups chicken stock or reduced salt broth

˝ cup honey

2 (15-ounce) cans pumpkin puree

24 pitted dates

4 large beets, peeled and quartered

6 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 bay leaves

6 cups prepared couscous

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, salt and pepper together and rub chicken legs with spice mixture.

Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat until oil starts to shimmer, then sear chicken in two or three batches about 10 minutes on each side or until the skins are well browned. Remove chicken and place in an oiled, 8-quart covered casserole dish or traditional Moroccan tagine dish. Add the garlic and onion to the pan used for cooking chicken and saute until soft. Add the chicken stock, honey, pumpkin, dates, beets, parsnips and bay leaves to pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, pour over the chicken legs. Cover the dish and braise in the oven 45 minutes or until chicken and root vegetables are tender. Season to taste and serve over the couscous.

Chef's note: Tagine dishes are two-piece covered dishes with conical lids. You can find themat www.williams-sonoma.com or www.surlatable.com, or any covered casserole dish will work.

Per serving: 1,306 calories (32 percent from fat), 47 grams total fat (12 grams saturated), 277 milligrams cholesterol, 149 grams carbohydrates, 77 grams protein, 525 milligrams sodium, 24 grams dietary fiber.

___

PUMPKIN ROLL

Makes 10 to 12 servings

For the cake:

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon lemon juice

ľ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

˝ teaspoon salt

˝ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts

Filling:

1 (6-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting

Ľ cup butter (˝ stick), softened

˝ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan and line with wax paper. Grease and flour the paper and set pan aside.

For the cake: In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs on high speed with a hand mixer 5 minutes. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until batter is thick and lemon-colored. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice.

In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Gently fold dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Spread batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with walnuts. Bake 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately turn sponge cake out onto linen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Peel off wax paper and roll cake up in a clean kitchen towel, starting at the short end; allow to cool.

For the filling: In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1 cup confectioners' sugar, butter and vanilla on medium speed until fluffy. When cake is cooled, carefully unroll cake and spread filling to within 1 inch of the edges. Roll up again. Cover and chill until serving. Slice and dust with confectioners' sugar to serve.

Per serving, based on 10: 365 calories (46 percent from fat), 19 grams total fat (8 grams saturated), 95 milligrams cholesterol, 43 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 275 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

___

FUN PUMPKIN FACTS

One (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree is equal to 1 ľ cups.

Pumpkin is a nutrient-rich food. It is low in cholesterol and sodium. It is high in vitamin E and potassium. A terrific source of fiber, pumpkin also contains vitamins A, C and K, iron and manganese.

Libby's calculates their canned pumpkin is baked into 50 million pies a year, the vast majority baked during the fall holidays.

Pumpkin can go sweet: sweeten it with maple syrup, honey or brown sugar and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger or all-spice. Or it can go savory: combine with onions, garlic, curry powder, sage and cumin.

For all sorts of pumpkin recipes, check out "Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Recipes" (Bear Wallow Books, 1998) for all sorts of pumpkin recipes, including Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Ice Cream, Mincemeat Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Banana Pudding, Ozark Pumpkin Porridge and Pumpkin Preserves.

To find Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Recipes: sales@bearwallowbooks.com. www.bearwallowbooks.com.

Sources: Verybestbaking.com; nutritiondata.com.

The chef: Beth Barden is the owner of Succotash, a funky eatery in the City Market known for its breakfasts.

Can-do advice: "For just 70 cents a can, it's a deal with no labor involved."

The chef: Wendy Rudderforth, Pangea Cafe, a Kansas City-area restaurant with a diverse, ethnic menu.

Can-do advice: Pumpkin dishes, including a pumpkin bread pudding, are hot items at the restaurant.

The chef: Sarah Williams, co-owner of PotPie.

Can-do advice: Sarah's husband, John, offered up this family favorite. The recipe comes from allrecipes.com.

The chef: John Williams, owner of PotPie, a homey Westport bistro serving French comfort food.

Can-do advice: "It is a good bridge ingredient, marrying familiar and unfamiliar flavors."

___

© 2008, The Kansas City Star.