posted by Marian C Brown 09-17-100 7:54 PM
Joy of Cooking
Pumpkin Puree
Wash and cut the (pie) pumpkin in half crosswise (equator). Remove seeds and strings. Place it in a pan, shell side up, and bake it in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or more (depending on size), until it is tender and begins to fall apart (cave in on itself).
Scrape out the pulp and put through a ricer, strainer or blender.
They don't tell us what to do with it once it's cooked but I allow it to cool before using it in a recipe or putting it in a container for freezing. Personally, I found that the pumpkin comes out soft enough that I don't have to bother pureeing it at all. That might be because I do use the pie pumpkins. By placing the half pumpkin shell side up you avoid all those unnecessary dried bits and the heat under the shell cooks it faster.