Are you going to host an epic Halloween themed dinner party for adults? Or are you just planning to fill your kids' tummies with healthy foods before they go out Trick or Treating this year? Pumpkins and Halloween have been connected since the earliest Irish immigrants brought the tradition of jack-o-lanterns to America.
Pumpkins replaced the original turnips because they were more readily available. That's great news for people aiming for a healthy diet, because pumpkins are rich in vitamin C, potassium and beta carotene. It's no surprise that pumpkins are the key ingredient in most Halloween dishes. Here are our ideas for a spooky Halloween dinner.
Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin soup is a hearty, very filling dish. It can easily pass as a main course. If you are planning to serve pumpkin soup as a starter, stick to small bowls or your guests won't want a main course. A small pumpkin is enough for our family of four, and a loaf of bread turns it into a complete meal. If you have a larger family, or have guests, you will need to add a little more.
You will need a small pumpkin of around three pounds, some garlic, a few onions, a leek or two and some bell peppers if you like. You will also need some sour cream, olive oil, salt and a pepper, and curry powder (if desired). Two cubes of vegetable stock will make your pumpkin soup come together nicely.
To start with, fry your garlic, onions, chopped leeks and peppers. Peel your pumpkin, chop it into small bits, and take the seeds out. Don't throw them away, though — you can fry your pumpkin seeds and give them away as Trick or Treat gifts or enjoy them yourself. Fry your blocks of pumpkin at a medium heat for about 10 minutes before adding adding water, vegetable stock, salt and pepper as necessary. This is also the time to use your curry powder if you like things a little more spicy. Bring your soup to a boil and keep that going until the pumpkin is soft.
To turn your soup mixture into a real soup, simply use an immersion mixer (also known as stick mixer). At the end, pour in a royal dollop of sour cream to taste, and you're done. Don't have too much pumpkin soup, or you won't feel like eating for days! French baguette is the perfect addition to pumpkin soup.
More Recipes For A Healthy Halloween
Pumpkin Risotto
Pumpkin risotto makes a wonderful, authentic yet modern main dish for Halloween dinner parties. Most kids love risotto, and you can make it with or without wine depending on your own preferences. Making a pumpkin risotto for Halloween will take you a bit of time, but it's the same as making any other risotto.
You'll need olive oil or butter, arborio rice, garlic, onions, vegetable stock, salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese and a butternut squash. If you are using wine for your risotto, you'll need a nice dry white. Cut your squash into cubes, fry your onions and garlic in oil or butter on a medium heat, and add the arborio rice after around five minutes.
At the same time, add your cubed squash, a cup of warm stock and a cup of white wine. Continue stirring the entire time, and adding new cups of either water or stock as the water evaporates. Be careful your risotto doesn't become too salty; check from time to time and pour in water instead of broth once you are happy with the taste.
Continue this process until the risotto is cooked. Making risotto will usually take around an hour. Stir your Parmesan in at the very end, and add some parsley to decorate your masterpiece.
Remember that risotto is quite a filling dish. Your guests will appreciate some side salads, which you can easily prepare while the risotto is “maturing”. If you really want to get into the Halloween atmosphere, shape your risotto like a little ghost on each plate, and used olive slices to make eyes.
Scary Pumpkin Cupcakes
No Halloween dinner is complete without a spooky desert, and pumpkin cupcakes are a sure way to put a smile on everyone's face. They're delightfully moist, and easily decorated with your favorite Halloween themes — ghosts, spiders and witches are all easy additions to your cupcakes!
You'll need a lot of ingredients, so we'll give you some bullet points this time. For 12 cupcakes, get:
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1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
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1 teaspoon of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of baking soda
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½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of allspice or ½ of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
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½ cup of butter
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2 eggs
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1 cup of sugar
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1 cup of pumpkin purée — you can make this at home by grilling and then blending a pumpkin, or you can buy a can of puréed pumpkin if you're trying to save some time (and don't fancy cleaning up too many dishes).
Mix the dry ingredients together, and then add the butter followed by the eggs. Scoop the pumpkin mixture in last and mix thoroughly. Gently spoon your batter into cupcake shapes, and place them in your oven, which should be preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for approximately 20 minutes. Then leave to cool off and decorate as desired.
Of course, you don't want go experience pumpkin overload! We'd recommend you pick just one of these dishes and supplement them with other, non-pumpkin, options. Beetroot soup can look very vampire-like, for instance, and chocolate muffins can be decorated with spooky addo-ons just as easily.