Use up your Halloween pumpkins with these recipes by Lidl

With spooky season creeping upon us quicky, it’s time to start thinking about Halloween festivities. What better way to get in the chilling spirit, than with tasty, seasonal Halloween themed dishes to enjoy with friends, family or trick-or-treaters.

Whether for warm, hearty lunches, an attempt to make dinner time exciting for the kids or for a ghastly evening dessert, these pumpkin-themed dishes will make your Halloween banquet one fit for the freakiest witches, wizards, ghosts and vampires.

Pumpkin potion soup (Serves 4)

This easy pumpkin soup recipe is perfect for using up leftover Halloween pumpkin and makes a great autumnal starter. If enjoying as a main, serve the soup with two portions of your favourite vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 medium pumpkin
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 garlic bulb, sliced in half, horizontally
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground coriander
1 vegetable stock cube
500ml water, boiled
1 handful pumpkin seeds
2 tortilla wraps
10 black olives, pitted

Method:

Begin by preheating your oven to 200ºC. On a large chopping board, slice your pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut your pumpkin into small chunks and spread onto two baking trays. Drizzle with the olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper and roast for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and golden at the edges. Once roasted, the skin can be easily peeled by hand.
Ten minutes prior to removing the pumpkin from the oven, in your largest saucepan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat. Add your onion, garlic and chilli and cook for ten minutes until soft. Adding the cumin and coriander, cook off for two to three minutes. Once the pumpkin has cooked, add it to the saucepan along with the vegetable stock. Allow to simmer for ten minutes and then blend to a smooth consistency. If necessary, add some more warm water.
Cut out spooky shapes from the tortilla wraps and pop them onto a baking tray. Bake until golden for around three minutes.
Serve the pumpkin potion in bowls along with a drizzle of olive oil and some pumpkin seeds scattered across the top. For extra creepy presentation, serve the scary tortilla chips on the side and slice olives to make googly eyes, arranging them over your soup for an extra fear factor.

Roasted pumpkin & pesto spookghetti (Serves 4)

If luring your little people to the dinner table on Halloween night is a challenge, then this dish is for you. This dish is best served with two portions of your favourite vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 medium pumpkin
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 pack lardons
150g walnuts
500g spaghetti
1 jar of green pesto

Method:

Begin by preheating your oven to 200ºC and on a large chopping board, slice your pumpkin in half, scooping out the seeds. Leave these to the side. Cut the pumpkin into medium sized chunks and spread onto two baking trays. Drizzle with the olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 35-40 minutes until cooked through and golden at the edges. Once roasted, the skin can be easily peeled by hand.
In a cold frying pan, add the bacon lardons and fry gently over a medium heat until crispy.
When your pumpkin is cooked, grab one of the baking trays and pop on the walnuts. Put it into the oven for five minutes (max) to toast them.
In a large saucepan, boil some water and add a large pinch of sea salt. Add the pasta and cook for nine to ten minutes. Once cooked, drain the pasta, reserving a little bit of the water in a mug and popping back into the large pan.
Add a jar of pesto and stir to combine, followed by adding the pumpkin, bacon lardons and walnuts and mixing carefully. If it needs loosening, add a little pasta water.
Divide into four bowls and serve.

Warm pumpkin blondies (9 pieces)

Not sure what to do with leftover pumpkin after you've finished your Halloween carving? Try this tasty spin on brownies, made with sweet white chocolate and pecan nuts. Substitute the pumpkin for squash, if you'd prefer.

Ingredients:

275g pumpkin flesh, cubed
175g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
2cm ginger, peeled and grated
1tsp vanilla extract
200g light brown sugar
1 egg
225g flour
125g white chocolate, roughly chopped
100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped

To serve:

Vanilla ice cream
White chocolate, finally chopped
Pecan nuts, finely chopped

Method:

Place the pumpkin flesh in a saucepan and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Boil for 15 – 20 minutes until tender. Drain, return to the pan and mash, then set aside and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 5. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm square shallow cake tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, ginger, vanilla and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Stir through the mashed pumpkin. Sift over the flour and fold into the mixture using a wooden spoon. Fold in the white chocolate and pecans. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean. Cool in the tin for ten minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack for a further 15 minutes.
If using for dessert, cut into 9 squares and decorate with the finely chopped white chocolate and pecans. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.