I make a lot of sauces and salsas and marinades and dressings. Usually, they're for a specific purpose. But when I made this sauce, I started using it on everything.
What couldn't I use it for?
Huh? Huh?
Okay, maybe not ice cream.
But ... hmmm ... given the bizarre ice cream flavors there are, maybe this could work. I'm not going to try it, but feel free to experiment on yourself.
I think my favorite use - and the one where it really showed off - was as a salsa substitute on tacos.
If pumpkin seems odd paired with a Mexican dish, think about this. The earliest pumpkin-related seeds were found in Mexico, and they dated back to between 7000 and 5500 B.C.
But this isn't just for use as-is. It makes a great base ingredient that you can build on.
Mixed with an equal portion of sour cream or Greek yogurt, it makes a great creamy-smoky-spicy dip for chips or vegetables. Add some mayonnaise, if you like.
Mix it with more ketchup (or tomato sauce or paste) then add some allspice to make a smoky barbecue sauce for ribs.
Stir a spoon of this into soup or stew to kick up the flavor. Add a small dollop to your deviled egg, potato salad, or macaroni salad recipe.
Add a tiny bit to a salad dressing recipe, or toss some with hot pasta.
Add it to guacamole or salsa. Mix it with cooked vegetables.
Seriously, you're going to keep making this over and over and over, because it has so many uses.
And it's so simple.
Chipotle-Pumpkin Sauce
1 15-ounce can LIBBY's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/4 cup canned chipotle in adobo
1/4 cup ketchup
Salt, to taste
Put the pumpkin, chipotles (and the sauce that goes with them), and the ketchup into your blender or food processor and blend until it's as smooth as it can get.
If you want a completely smooth sauce, without the pepper seeds and skin, strain it though a fine strainer. Taste and add salt as desired.
Refrigerate until needed.
For more ideas on what #PumpkinCan be used for (get it, pumkin can ... canned pumpkin?) check out the website or LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Facebook or LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Twitter or LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Pinterest ... or check out the pasta I made, or the peanut butter and pumpkin cookies or the pumpkin and vegetable pancakes.
Excuse me now, while I go contemplate pi. Or maybe pie.