I’ve been thinking back to my childhood now that Halloween is around the corner. I dressed up as a ghost, Batman, and a medieval warrior in armor to go out trick or treating.
Years later, when my own son was in elementary school, we threw an annual pumpkin carving party at our house for Halloween. It was a blast. Families would bring their kids and pumpkins. We’d head to the garage and carve the pumpkins in our own creative ways.
Past memories and the present come together in the following dish perfectly suited for this time of year: sautéed pumpkin cubes with cannellini beans and Olio Nuovo. The recipe comes to us courtesy of olive oil expert Fran Gage.
“This autumn dish celebrates pumpkins and fresh new olive oil on a base of cannellini beans,” she writes in her book, The New American Olive Oil (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009). Gage served the dish as a starter for a multiple-course pumpkin dinner.
Pumpkins, of course, are everywhere in late October. And next month we’ll begin shipping our Olio Nuovo, the freshest extra virgin olive oil we produce.
Gage drizzles a few tablespoons of Olio Nuovo over the sautéed pumpkin cubes and beans before serving. (You can check out her other suggestions for pairing Olio Nuovo with food.)
Gage used a squat French heirloom pumpkin called rouge vif d’etampes when she prepared the sautéed pumpkin for the pumpkin dinner. That particular variety features a deep orange skin and flash. A worthy substitute, she added, would be sugar pumpkins or butternut squash.
Good eating and trick or treat.
Bon appétit,
Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch
