Pumpkin Tempura

This is a Japanese snack and really, truly, utterly delicious.

I’m a big fan of pumpkin, but do sometimes find it takes a lot of time to deal with, when you’ve got to roast it off, let it cool remove the flesh, etc. etc. So, imagine my delight when I found a recipe for pumpkin that’s done in 4 minutes, is comfort food and tastes like the best aspects of pumpkin, paired with the best things about sweet potato fries!

To be honest, I’m a bit in love.

My only warning about this recipe is that these things are FILLING. I only made half a Hokkaido Pumpkin’s worth of these babies, but it still took me three days to finish them (they reheat really well in the oven or air fryer), because my goodness do they fill you up.

They can be eaten on their own, or dipped in soup, or (if you’re going non-vegan) into runny egg yolk, which is my new dream lunch. Actually… they really go with everything.

• 1 small pumpkin, like a Kabocha or Hokkaido
• 90g flour
• 30g additional starch (potato starch, cornflour or arrowroot (p.s. arrowroot is gluten free and low carb and behaves exactly like cornflour)
• 230ml sparkling water, slightly frozen (put it in the freezer an hour before you need to use it)
• Neutral oil (for frying)
• Salt, to taste

1. Wash your pumpkin, cut it in half, scoop out the guts and slice into ½-1cm slices. Leave the skin intact.
2. Mix together the flour, starch and sparkling water until smooth.
3. Dredge the pumpkin slices in the batter.
4. Heat 2cm of oil to 180°C and add pumpkin slices. Don’t add too many at once, or your oil will cool down too much. Somewhere between 4-6 slices, depending on the size of your pan.
5. Cook pumpkin for 4 minutes, until golden and crispy.
6. Remove, drain and sprinkle with salt. 

Serving suggestions

Strawberry and Lime Frapple goes so well with tempura!

https://courtneys.online/cider/frapple-strawberry-and-lime/