Two delicious recipes for autumn

Stuffed microwave squash

This recipe could almost pass for fast food. Microwave pumpkins, also called surprise pumpkins, are relatively small and cook through in the microwave in just five to ten minutes. If you do not have a microwave, you can easily prepare this dish in the oven. The cooking time will then be slightly longer.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

4 microwave pumpkins
400 g Gorgonzola
400 Italian cooked hams
400 g cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Wash the pumpkins well.
• Cut off a lid. This should be so big that the kernels can be easily removed with a tablespoon.
• Finely dice the ham.
• Mix the Gorgonzola with the cream cheese. If the mixture is too firm, add a little milk.
• Mix in the ham.
• Pour into the pumpkins and put the lid back on.
• Depending on the size of the microwave, cook individually or in pairs for about 10 minutes on the highest setting.

Fresh white bread goes very well with this dish.

Pumpkin salad with apples

Pumpkins also taste extremely good raw. The pumpkin salad presented here goes perfectly with briefly fried meat. Since it should last a long time, it is very suitable to be taken to work or to the autumn picnic.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

3 tart apples
1 pear that is not too ripe
600 g of Hokkaido pumpkin meat
4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp vegetable oil
freshly grated ginger to taste

Marinade:

4 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cane sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 pinches of pepper

Preparation:

• Soften the raisins in hot water.
• Mix all ingredients for the marinade well with the whisk and set aside.
• Wash and clean the pumpkin, apples and pears and cut or slice them into very fine slices.
• Mix with the marinade.
• Peel the ginger, grate it finely and add to the salad.
• Slowly roast the pumpkin seeds in a little oil in a pan, let them cool down briefly and sprinkle over the salad together with the drained raisins.
• Let everything soak for at least half an hour.