Sep
2014
Munchkin Pumpkins Galore!
It’s September and the harvesting season has been in full swing for a few weeks now, but there is one crop which has to be my overall favourite. And thats the Munchkin Pumpkins. I first saw this plant in the Sarah Raven catalogue, in the photograph she had it growing up a frame and I instantly thought it would look perfect growing over my hazel archway. I was also drawn in by the cuteness of the size and the shape! I sowed 6 seeds overall, they all germinated but sadly only 1 died (I acidentally snapped the stem!). Therefore I put 2 plants on one side of my archway and 3 on the other side, and it didn’t take long for them to take over the frame. I originally had the pumpkins, sweet peas and borlotto beans growing up the archway but the poor sweet peas hardly produced, whereas the beans and pumpkins thrived. I now have a huge bag of borlotto beans hanging and drying in the shed and theres a glut of pumpkins, not that I’m complaining!
I am totally and utterly in love with these tiny pumpkins, just look how cute they are! Plus they taste absolutely delicious and they are so easy to grow. All I had to do was help them grow up the archway by securing the stems to the hazel, apart from that I didn’t do anything else to them and they have produced so many pumpkins. Definately a winner and one I will be growing next year!
Stayed tuned for tomorrow’s blog post, there’s going to be another giveaway and it’s a beautiful one!
Before I go I thought I would share the recipe on how I like to cook these little beauties, it’s rather simple but so delicious.
Munchkin Pumpkin stuffed with Kale, Chorizo and Cream
- 1 Munchkin Pumpkin
- 1 Teaspoon of Kale
- 1 Teaspoon of chopped Chorizo
- Extra Thick Cream (any cream will do but I prefer extra thick, it melts down lovely!)
Cut the top of the pumpkin off, trying to keep it as straight as possible. Remove the seeds inside with a spoon and hollow it out. Fill with the kale, chorizo and then add two teaspoons of extra thick cream (or fill nearly to the brim with cream). Replace the pumpkin lid and then roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
Tom
September 6, 2014 at 10:09 am (3 weeks ago)Sounds tasty! Might give those a try next year.
Tom
September 6, 2014 at 10:11 am (3 weeks ago)Sounds tasty! Might give those a try next year. I grew Atlantic giant pumpkins this year, but only got one and it was only slightly larger than your miniature ones. And unfortunately, something had caused it to split on the top and something ate the flesh - it was completely hollow. Do you know what might have caused this splitting? My butternuts grown in my polyhouse are doing fantastic and show no signs of stopping yet. We had one in risotto two nights ago. It weighed just shy of 4 pounds and didn’t have a single seed inside, which was strange as they are supposed to be heirloom. It tasted fantastic though!
Katie
September 23, 2014 at 9:13 am (3 days ago)Oh I would love to grow giant pumpkins but my allotment is so tiny! The only thing I know about splitting is when the crop has erratic watering, my tomatoes did that alot in their trough because it got so dry quickly. Sorry I can’t help.
It seems to have been a great year to butternut sqaushes and that risotto sounds delicious!
Trudi
September 6, 2014 at 11:30 am (3 weeks ago)Wow, they are so cute, I can’t wait to have a go at growing them myself next year……brilliant recipe, thanks for the inspiration. Love your blog….keep up the good work!
Katie
September 23, 2014 at 8:52 am (3 days ago)Thank you so much Trudi, I am in love with them! I hope you have fun growing them and eating them
Lisa
September 6, 2014 at 2:48 pm (3 weeks ago)They look great! Ive created an account with Sarah Raven so I can get these! Sounds like you have been very lucky with them… do you feed them at all whilst they are growing?
Katie
September 23, 2014 at 8:51 am (3 days ago)Oh Yay! You will love them Lisa. Except from helping them to climb I didn’t do anything else, no feed or anything. I just left them to do their thing which is the best thing about them! I’ve managed to get 35 pumpkins overall
Joan Gunther
September 6, 2014 at 6:08 pm (3 weeks ago)Cute! I always thought those pumpkins were purely decorative, like gourds. So, do you eat the inside of the pumpkin as you eat the Kale, Chorizo and cream, or is the pumpkin purely a vessel for whatever you put in it?
Katie
September 23, 2014 at 8:49 am (3 days ago)They would look cute as decorations though but they taste so yummy! I eat the whole thing, skin and all (except the stalk of course and not in one mouthfull!)
Cynthia
September 8, 2014 at 3:36 pm (2 weeks ago)How beautiful these are! They would be perfect to serve on thanksgiving here in the US
Katie
September 23, 2014 at 8:46 am (3 days ago)They are really delicious too and just the right size for a starter or side dish
clara
September 13, 2014 at 9:08 am (2 weeks ago)I’ve never had much luck with pumpkins - definitely trying these on an arch somewhere in the garden!