Fall Produce Recipes

Fall has arrived and with it, delicious autumn produce! At Forgotten Harvest Farms, we harvest crops from June through November (weather permitting) and some of the most plentiful earthen offerings in early autumn are pumpkins, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

If you’ve never worked with some or all of these produce varieties, you may not know how to apply them in the kitchen. We like to make it as easy as possible for our neighbors to enjoy the food items they receive from our distributions and sometimes that means including recipes for the less common kitchen items.

If you’re unsure how to incorporate pumpkins into your fall feast as more than decoration or if you’re on the hunt for a revamped pepper plate, read on for a few recipes picked out by our Food Sourcing and Farm teams.

Let’s dream in sugar pumpkins and eggplant embellishments, shall we?

Simple Pumpkin Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes; Cook Time 1 hour; Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 sugar pumpkins (pie pumpkins)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup canned light coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
2 Tbsp maple syrup (sub agave nectar or honey)
¼ Tsp each sea salt, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife, cut pumpkin in half lengthwise (removing the top and bottom is optional). Then use a sharp spoon to scrape out all the strings and seeds.
Brush the pumpkin flesh with oil, sprinkle with salt, and place flesh down on the baking sheet. Pierce skin a few times with a fork or knife to let steam escape.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the skin. Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, then peel away skin and set pumpkin aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, shallot, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until slightly browned and translucent. Turn down heat if cooking too quickly.
Add remaining ingredients, including the pumpkin, and bring to a simmer.
Transfer ingredients to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
Continue cooking over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Note: Pumpkin can be cooked in microwave — cut off the stem and scoop out pulp and seeds; cut the pumpkin in quarters, then cut the quarters in half; season as above; place pieces in a microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; cook in microwave for 15 minutes, checking halfway that the plastic is sealing the moisture in; let cool for 10 minutes; peel pumpkin skin with fingers or cut it away carefully with a knife.

Scratch Pumpkin Pie

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 small sugar pumpkin (pie pumpkin)
1 12oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ Tsp salt
1 ½ Tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tsp ground ginger
½ Tsp ground nutmeg
½ Tsp ground cloves
1 9’’ deep dish pie shell

Instructions:

Using a sharp knife, cut pumpkin in half lengthwise, then use a sharp spoon to scrape out all of the strings and seeds.
Cut pumpkin into pieces small enough to fit into a metal colander or veggie steamer, place into a large enough pot so colander fits into it, fill bottom with 2’’ of water, put tight lid on and bring to a boil. When water is boiling, reduce heat to a hard simmer for around 30 minutes or until a fork easily pierces through the pieces. Repeat every 15-20 minutes until done like boiled potatoes, add more water as needed.
Drain water carefully, with clamped-on lid and potholders.
Set aside to cool. When cool, place skin side in palm of hand and remove pulp with spoon and place into a large bowl.
Using hand potato masher to mash the pulp or blend in a food processor or blender.
Measure out 2 cups of pumpkin for pie and put into another large bowl.
Add sugar, salt, spices, and eggs to mashed or pureed pumpkin. Mix carefully, add milk and stir.
Pour into pie shell, foil edges, placed on foiled cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes. Give knife clean test, if not clean bake until desired doneness.

Note: Pumpkin can be cooked in microwave — cut off the stem and scoop out pulp and seeds; cut the pumpkin in quarters, then cut the quarters in half; place pieces in a microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; cook in microwave for 15 minutes, checking halfway that the plastic is sealing the moisture in; let cool for 10 minutes; peel pumpkin skin with fingers or cut it away carefully with a knife and serve.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes; Cook Time 20 minutes; Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 lb), scrubbed clean
1 ½ Tsp olive oil
¼ Tsp kosher salt
⅛ Tsp ground pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
Cut unpeeled sweet potatoes into 1’’ cubes.
In a large bowl, toss cubed sweet potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy on the cut sides and tender inside, turning them about halfway through.

Note: Sweet potatoes can be cooked in microwave — pierce the whole sweet potato with a fork several times; place it in the microwave for 6-7 minutes, turning the potato with tongs or oven-safe gloves every 2 minutes; fork test to make sure it can easily pierce the potato; season and butter it to taste and serve.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Prep Time 20 minutes; Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes; Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients:

4 medium fresh poblano peppers
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tsp ground cumin
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 thin slices Cheddar cheese, cut into strips
4 thin slices Monterey Jack cheese, cut into strips
1 (15 oz) can enchilada sauce of choice
¼ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Turn a gas stove burner to high. Using tongs, hold each poblano pepper directly on the flame and turn until skins are charred. Let peppers cool.
Cut off top of each pepper, leaving it as close to whole as possible. Remove skins, seeds, membranes, and stems.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add ground beef to the same skillet and cook until brown and crumbly, about 5-7 minutes. Mix in chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place peppers in a nonstick casserole dish and insert a slice each of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese into each pepper.
Spoon some of the ground beef mixture into each pepper. Place remaining beef on top of the peppers and cover with enchilada sauce.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese on top of peppers, then bake until cheese is bubbly and the peppers are fragrant, another 45 minutes.

Note: These are better if you prepare them one day and then bake and eat them the next day.

Roasted Eggplant

Prep Time 5 minutes; Cook Time 30 minutes; Total time 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ Tsp kosher salt
½ Tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line a tray with parchment paper.
Cut eggplant into 1-1.5’’ cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
Spread in an even layer on the tray and roast for 20 minutes. Using a sharp-edged spatula, flip the pieces and roast for another 10 minutes until the edges are caramelized and the inside is soft.

Other ways to serve: