Pumpkin and carrot cream

How to prepare a cream of carrot and pumpkin .

The vegetable recipes in the form of cream or mashed  give us all the nutritional benefits of these healthy foods.

Vegetable creams are one of the most comforting dishes throughout the year. This recipe today is twofold, since on the one hand I explain the traditional version, the lifelong version, and on the other, with a more modern touch.

This type of dishes, whether they are leeks , leeks with ham , zucchini , Galician style , with turnip greens   or the classic asparagus , creams are always one of my favorite options in my kitchen. Perfect for a light and healthy meal.

Of course a good bowl of this pumpkin cream , it is a fantastic choice for a first of a meal or a unique dish for dinner.

I hope you like the recipe, try them in both versions and you will tell me. Another delicious way to eat vegetables every day!

Preparation of the cream of carrots and pumpkin in the traditional way

1. Peel the leek and cut into two. Chop one of the parts and add to a saucepan with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Brown over low heat for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile we wash, peel and chop the pumpkin, carrots and potatoes. Add everything to the same casserole with the leek and sprinkle with the bicarbonate. Only the tip of a knife is needed (about 2 grams).
3. We remove everything well and fry for 10 minutes over medium heat. We add a liter of broth (vegetables or poultry) or water.
4. Let cook until everything is soft, a half hour over medium high heat is enough.
5. In this video you can see tricks to peel and cut the pumpkin easily and quickly.

Preparation and presentation of the cream of carrots and pumpkin

1. Season with salt and pepper and grind until you get a creamy texture, a slightly thick cream and we have it ready to serve very hot. The texture must be cream, if we are a little fat we can add a little whole milk.
2. We choose a nice deep dish, add a generous tablespoon of very hot cream. Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon salt and place a little fried leek on top. The leek is doing great and is super easy to prepare.
3. We cut it into thin julienne strips, that is, into similar sheets. We fry in a frying pan with hot aove until they have this golden color pulling to toast and are crisp when eaten. We take it out of the pan and put on absorbent paper.
4. Another option is to make croutons, croutons, or fried bread croutons. You can even give it a rich garlic flavor. I usually have a glass jar with garlic cloves and extra virgin olive oil in the fridge, that oil preserves the garlic cloves and is also flavored with that flavor, a trick of the almond tree.
5. If you dare with the croutons, you just have to cut the slices of bread into small squares or cubes more or less the same, we add a little egg to a pan. Fry until golden and place on absorbent paper.

I assure you that it is a daily dish, very simple and easy to cook. A ten-point recipe to eat vegetables during the week, a base plate for more complicated recipes or even an effective method for your children to eat vegetables.

Preparation of carrot and pumpkin cream with a modern touch

1. To prepare the cream your way, we must have an express pot or a blender. Of course, all the ingredients that we have used in the previous cream. 500 gr. carrot or peeled pumpkin, 80 gr. of melted butter, 7.5 gr. salt, 2.5 gr. bicarbonate, 600 gr. of the same liquefied vegetable.
2. Only that we will substitute the extra virgin olive oil for butter and we will not use potatoes and leeks to give consistency to the cream, it is not necessary. The way to complement the cream is also with fried leek or croutons. The chive, of course, also goes to death.
3. We wash, peel and cut the pumpkin and carrots into pieces of about 5 cm. We add everything to the express pot, it must cover the entire surface of the bottom of the pot, without anything being superimposed on another top layer.
4. Add the liquid butter (a simple minute in the micro is enough). Sprinkle with the baking soda and salt. We remove everything well and cover the pot,
5. We turn the heat up until it beeps (and has therefore reached the maximum pressure, 15 psi). We lower the heat to the minimum and let it cook between 20 minutes (enough) and 50 minutes if you are looking for extra caramelization.
6. Halfway through cooking we shake the pot a little so that the vegetables are caramelized evenly. We remove from the fire, let it rest for 10 minutes and cool the pot under a stream of cold water and open.

Final presentation of the cream of carrots

1. Blend the 600 g of vegetables and add to the pot, we have to reduce it with a liquid to turn it into a cream. We are going to use the juice or juice for the cream but all the fiber I used for a carrot and pumpkin pie. Do not think of throwing away the pulp as it can serve you for many other recipes, including as a base for some lentils or a stew.
2. The liquefied vegetable itself lowers the density without any fiber that thickens it, further enhancing its flavor. Crush and heat until it boils again. We rectify with salt and add a little more butter if we want to give it more oiliness. If you like it a little lighter, add water until you get the consistency you want.
3. We choose a nice deep dish, add a generous tablespoon of very hot cream.

In short, a concentrated cream with carrot and pumpkin flavor. Cooked in its own juices, then the juices evaporate and it is concentrated and caramelized in butter, tripling its flavor. At the end we add the liquefied juice of the same vegetables, which quadruples its flavor. Worthy of the best restaurant in your city and now your home.

Tips and recommendations for a haute cuisine cream

• You can have the cream prepared the day before and heat it just when the guests come for lunch or dinner. The crispy leek does not take more than 5 minutes, so you can spend time on other things.
• The great trick of these two recipes is that when you add baking soda, the vegetables “sweat” much of their juice. They are cooked in it without losing any flavor and when they evaporate they end up caramelising (or maillarizing) browning in the butter. The result is a vegetable with an intense flavor.
• If you try this technique with garlic, you don’t need to use bicarbonate because it is already alkaline. Therefore, when making garlic pickles, it reacts with the acid base and takes on a very surprising green color. It’s scary if you don’t know, so much so that you might not even try it in case it’s broken.