Pumpkin’s World Tour: 5 Cooks, 5 Countries, 5 Most Excellent Recipes for Squash Season

Nina Elder
Nina ElderExecutive Food Director
Nina Elder is the Executive Food Director at Kitchn. She's passionate about snacks, baking, and well-written recipes. She lives with her husband, her son (who is also passionate about snacks), and two precocious pups in Rhode Island.
published Oct 28, 2021
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pumpkins around the world recipes on various plates
Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

Once the sweaters come out of storage and the apple picking begins, we all know what’s next: pumpkin season. There’s the pumpkin picking and the carving and the latte-ing and the Instagramming, but most of those activities use pumpkins as props. What we’re most interested in is the cooking.

And as much as we love all of the pumpkin pie/chili/bread/cheesecake that appear on the fall covers of food magazines and all over our social media feed, pumpkin and its close winter squash cousins have a really rich role in many cuisines around the world.

To broaden our pumpkin horizons, we reached out to some of our favorite food folks to see what pumpkin-y dishes inspire them — and their responses didn’t disappoint. From muffins made with rich, chestnut-like kabocha and kicked up with a healthy dose of Japanese curry powder, to a deeply satisfying butternut and smoked fish soup, to super-charming mini pumpkins stuffed with fall veggies, you’re sure to find a new fall favorite here.

Pumpkin’s World Tour

1 / 5
Rosa Jackson's Mini Pumpkins Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard
This is your reminder that those adorable little pumpkins that you see at every farm stand this time of year aren't just for decorating. In Nice, France — where cooking teacher and food writer Rosa Jackson is based — stuffed summer vegetables (or les petits farcis) are a classic culinary move. For a fall take on this classic dish, she stuffs the pumpkins with a super-savory mix of mushrooms and greens and adds a little cheese to bring it all together.
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2 / 5
Sonoko Sakai's Curry Kabocha Crumble Muffins
Rich, dense kabocha squash teams up with vibrantly spiced Japanese curry in these treats. Cookbook author and cooking teacher Sonoko Sakai's mom was a big kabocha fan and added it to miso and bento boxes, and fried it tempura-style. Sonoko continues the family tradition with this fun muffin, which is packed with flavor and tons of texture, thanks to the coconutty crumble on top.
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3 / 5
Zoe Adjonyoh's Smoked Fish Stew
Butternut squash didn't come into writer, chef, and food activist Zoe Adjonyoh's life until she left home for university. By the time she was in her mid-20s, she was regularly, obsessively cooking with it. Squash isn't a typical addition to this traditional Ghanaian stew, but she likes to add it here because the veggie's inherent sweet meatiness balances the deep fall spice in this warming dish.
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4 / 5
Mike Solomonov's Savory Squash Konafi
When life gave him too many butternut squash, chef and cookbook author Mike Solomonov made a savory version of this traditional Middle Eastern dessert. The sweet versions are a typically made of crispy shreds of kataifi pastry, cheese or cream, and nuts soaked in a saffron-scented syrup. Here, shredded squash and roasted squash puréed with feta and cream is mixed with the pastry. Just before eating, you pan-fry the konafi squares and top each portion with a sweet-savory mix of apples and olives.
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5 / 5
Fany Gerson's Calabaza en Tacha
Calabaza de castilla, a greenish or brownish squash with a butternut squash-like flesh, is the star of this recipe from Mexican dessert expert Fany Gerson. In this traditional Mexican dish, pieces of the squash are simmered in a spiced syrup for a couple of hours until the squash is very tender and infused with sweetness and spice. The dessert is commonly prepared around the Día de Muertos celebrations because it is an important part of many offerings (ofrendas), the altars that are set up to honor the memory of ancestors.
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What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe? Do you have another way of using pumpkin that is particular to your family or culture?

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