How to Roast a Pumpkin Whole & How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Preheat oven to 350. Pierce the pumpkin deeply with a fork 4-5 times around the exterior. Spray a sheet pan and the exterior of the pumpkin with non-stick cooking spray. Place the pumpkin onto the sheet pan and place the entire thing into the preheated oven. Roast for 1 hour or until extremely tender.

!To Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree:

Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds (you should find this to be much easier than when doing the same with a raw pumpkin). Peel away the skin from the pumpkin meat. Add the pumpkin meat to a food processor and whirl until smooth, about 30 seconds. If your puree seems watery here, strain it through a fine mesh sieve (I've only encountered watery pumpkin when making puree out of much larger pumpkins; the puree pictured has not been strained). Use your puree in place of canned puree in your favorite [pumpkin recipes|http://alaskascratch.wpengine.com/?s=pumpkin&submit=Search]. Cover and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days or freeze.