Pumpkin & Feta Savory Muffins

This recipe is for pumpkin-lovers with a curious streak... it's pumpkin not in a pie or dessert, but in a savory muffin (more of a biscuit, actually) with scallions and salty feta cheese.





As a side note, I've included a method for roasting a pumpkin yourself (versus using canned). It's actually really easy as long as you have some extra time.





I was happy with how these turned out, but they almost smelled better as they were cooking-- they sort of smelled like Thanksgiving in a muffin.

Lastly, I used whole-wheat flour in this recipe in an effort to use the lesser-processed option, but you could also use white all-purpose flour. The whole-wheat version seemed to make the muffins a little denser than I was expecting, so I would be curious what a half-and-half version would be like.





Pumpkin & Feta Savory Muffins

Makes 20-22

2 C chopped roasted pumpkin pie pumpkin (or other winter squash)
1 large handful of spinach, chopped (about 1 C)
1/2 C unsalted sunflower seed kernels
1 t Dijon mustard
3/4 C feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 t red pepper flakes
4 t baking powder
2 C whole-wheat flour (can also use all-purpose flour)
2 eggs
3/4 C milk
1 bunch of scallions/green onions, chopped (about 1 1/4 C)
1 T butter or olive oil to grease muffin tins

1. To roast the pumpkin:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Slice pumpkin open and scoop out seeds. Cut pumpkin into about eight chunks. Leaving skin on, place pumpkin pieces in a pan and put about 1/4-inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Place in oven for about 40-45 minutes; test tenderness of pumpkin with a fork.

Once pumpkin is done, set aside to cool. The oven can stay at the same temperature to cook the muffins.

2. While pumpkin is cooking, grease the muffin tin with butter or olive oil (I actually used coconut oil, which is a good alternative to butter).

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, scallions, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, a half-cup of the feta, the mustard, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Add the chopped pumpkin.

4. Beat the eggs and milk together in a separate bowl, and add to the pumpkin mixture. Sift the flour and baking soda into the pumpkin mixture and fold all together.

5. Spoon the mixture into the greased muffin tin, filling each tin about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the remaining feta over muffins. Bake for about 15 minutes (still at 400 F), until the tops and sides of the muffins are brown. Let sit for a few minutes before cooling on a cooling rack.


Adapted from a 101cookbooks.com recipe.