Roasted Pumpkin

In December of last year, my grandmother bought some pumpkins and she gave me one. I don't know what kind of pumpkin it is or what to do with it. My grandmother told me that I could roast it like a regular pumpkin. Well, not too sure what to do with it, I let it sit in my living room as a decoration piece.

Well, the other day I decided that I better do something with it before it goes bad, if it hadn't already. I wanted to make empanadas with pumpkin filling, so why not use this pumpkin. I have never roasted a pumpkin before so, like I always do with something new, I went to google and did a search. I found lots of info and found out that it really isn't that hard.

First I wash the outside of the pumpkin and cut it in half. Then I removed the seeds and guts.I was surprised with how bright and orange it was even after sitting in my living room for a month.

Then I quartered it.Then I cut those quarters in half, that way it would not take as long to cook, and fit better in my pans.

 I roasted them skin side up at 350 degrees and it took about 1 1/2 hours till it was done.

Then after letting them cool for a bit, I took a spoon and scooped out all of the flesh into a bowl. I got four large bowls from this pumpkin.

Then, in small batches, I used a blender to puree the pulp.

 This is what I ended up with...a whole lot of pumpkin puree. I put some aside to make the empanadas and the rest I put into freezer bags and into the freezer to use at a later time.

I plan to use all the puree to make empanadas, but it can be used to make pies, breads, cakes, flans, soups, and whatever else you want.