Foods of yesteryear have place at table today

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Thanksgiving has had a long evolution over the centuries, and that includes the occasional surprise. Popcorn, for example.

There were no forks on that first Thanksgiving table in 1621. Instead, the Pilgrims and Indians shared cups and spoons and used knives and their fingers to eat.

There was no cranberry sauce, and historians seriously doubt that turkey was on the menu.

When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, they saw a barren landscape that seemed most inhospitable. They settled into American Indian villages that had become ghost towns because of smallpox, and they planted crops in the Indians' abandoned fields.

Had it not been for Squanto, the lone surviving Pautuxet Indian, the Pilgrims surely would have starved to death. Squanto gave them corn, teaching them how to plant it the Indian way: four kernels of corn in a mound of earth along with the head of a fish.

One year later, the Pilgrims had their first meager harvest and set aside a day of thanksgiving after a period of near starvation.

Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoags was invited to the feast, and he brought with him 90 braves, their faces and bodies painted for the celebration. It was these Indians who searched for the food needed for the feast.

A first course, then as now, might very well be pumpkin soup. Indians at the first Thanksgiving would have baked their pumpkins whole in hot ashes. The pumpkin then would have been peeled, chopped, thinned with a game broth, and seasoned with maple syrup and dried spices.

Today we regard Indian pudding as a dessert, often served in restaurants around Thanksgiving and throughout the winter. Originally, however, Indian pudding was served as part of the main meal along with the meat and vegetables.

In "Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking," authors Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs offer recipes that demonstrate how the foods of yesteryear have a place on today's table. From that cookbook comes this menu which would have pleased Indian and Pilgrim alike, as well as their 21st-century descendants.

Pumpkin Soup

1 small pumpkin, or one 29-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin

1 to 2 tablespoons peanut or sunflower oil (if using fresh pumpkin)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon allspice

3 to 4 cups chicken or beef broth

Garnish:

Thinly sliced green onion tops

Chopped hazelnuts

Roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds

If using a fresh pumpkin: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin in baking dish and bake until easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Allow pumpkin to cool. Slice off top and scoop out seeds. Clean pumpkin fibers from seeds and discard fibers. Toss seeds with oil and salt, to taste. Spread seeds on baking sheet and return to oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until crisp and golden. Reserve for garnish. Scrape pumpkin flesh from shell and mash, or puree if a smoother texture is desired.

Place fresh or canned pumpkin in a large saucepan and season with salt, pepper, syrup and allspice. Gradually stir in enough broth to give soup a thick or thin consistency, as desired. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until hot.

If desired, serve soup in small pumpkin or squash shells. Garnish with green onions, chopped hazelnuts and hulled pumpkin seeds.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Hazelnut-Honey Baked Squash

3 medium-sized acorn squash

1 cup water

6 tablespoons honey

6 teaspoons hazelnut butter (recipe follows)

Ground allspice, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half and remove seeds and strings. Pour water into a baking dish large enough to hold the squash. Place squash halves, cut side down, in pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until squash starts to feel soft.

Turn squash halves over and fill each cavity with 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon hazelnut butter. Spread honey-butter mixture over top edges and all over cavity. Sprinkle lightly with allspice, salt and pepper. Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes, until squash is nicely glazed. Serve with any roast meat, fowl or game.

To make hazelnut butter: Chop blanched hazelnuts or filberts in a food processor or blender until a paste is formed. Hazelnut butter is also available in health and specialty food stores.

Makes 6 servings.

Honey-Basted Roast Turkey

1 small turkey, 10 to 12 pounds

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 small bunch green onions

3 to 4 tablespoons honey

Garnish: Decorative string of cranberries and bay leaves or sage leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove giblets from turkey (reserve for gravy, recipe follows). Rinse turkey and pat dry. Rub inside and out with oil. Season with sage, allspice, salt and pepper. Stuff neck and body cavities with onions and truss, if desired. Place turkey in roasting pan. Roast, allowing 18 to 20 minutes per pound, until juices run clear with no hint of pink when thigh is pierced.

During the last hour of cooking, baste turkey 2 to 3 times with honey.

Serve with pan gravy and garnish with decorative string of cranberries and bay leaves or sage leaves, if desired.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Giblet Pan Gravy

Turkey neck and giblets

3 cups water

2 celery tops

2 green onions

Pan juices from roasted turkey

4 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place neck and giblets, except the liver, in a saucepan with water, celery tops and green onions. Chop liver and reserve. Bring water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer over medium-low heat for about 40 minutes or until giblets are tender. Strain broth and reserve.

Chop cooked giblets and combine with chopped liver.

In the same saucepan, bring 2 cups combined pan juices and giblet broth to a boil. Stir in chopped giblets and cornstarch-water mixture. Cook gravy over medium heat, stirring often, until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cranberry-Maple Sauce

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup maple syrup

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)

In a saucepan, combine cranberries, maple syrup and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until berries have burst and sauce has thickened. Stir in allspice, if desired. Cool and serve at room temperature. This sauce is at its best when it is made several hours in advance so that flavors will blend.

Makes 2 cups.

Indian Pudding

4 cups milk

1 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups dried currants or raisins

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 3 cups milk and maple syrup. Heat until just boiling and add butter.

In a bowl, combine cornmeal, ginger and nutmeg. Gradually stir cornmeal mixture into hot milk. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Fold in currants or raisins. Spoon mixture into a buttered 2-quart casserole. Pour remaining milk over pudding; do not stir.

Bake pudding for 2 1/2 hours, or until all the milk has been absorbed and top is golden brown. Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.