This creamy pumpkin spoon bread flirts with sweet and savory
I'm not quite sure why pumpkin has been mostly relegated to the sweets category in the United States, but like its winter squash cousins, it happily goes savory, too. Pumpkin is delicious simply roasted, just as you would a butternut or kabocha squash: halved and seeded, brushed with a little oil, drizzled with honey or maple syrup, sprinkled with salt and oven-roasted until fork tender. Just be sure to buy the smaller "sugar" pumpkins for cooking, which are creamier than their watery, fibrous carving cousins.
Canned pumpkin, which, ironically, is often made with a variety of different winter squashes, goes beyond pie as well, conveniently bringing orange seasonal essence to savory dishes. This souffle-like spoon bread showcases that quality beautifully. In it, pumpkin puree is stirred into a creamy cornmeal porridge along with familiar pumpkin spices - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. But it takes a turn toward savory with the addition of chopped fresh thyme leaves and has just enough maple syrup to give it a hint of sweetness.
Once enriched with egg yolk and folded with fluffy beaten egg whites, the mixture is poured into a souffle dish and baked. It emerges from the oven resplendent with autumnal color and aroma, elegantly puffed yet still homey, ready to grace your table as a vegetarian main course along soup or salad, or as a side for roasted meat or poultry.