Pumpkins forever

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Intro

For chefs and gourmets of Switzerland, pumpkins aren’t just for Halloween. As early as September, menus feature specialities with this chameleon of vegetables – be they bright orange, pale yellow or an attractive shade of green. In October and November, the supporting actors get more and more leading roles. Along with the classics like the Hokkaido pumpkin, old varieties have also made a name for themselves. And anyone thinking that pumpkin soup is the only recipe chefs might think of would be mistaken. As an accompaniment to game, as a chutney or for dessert, perhaps also as a vegetarian main course (how about pumpkin spaghetti with tomato sauce and Belper Knolle cheese?) – this gourd is a winner! Here are nine restaurants in Switzerland which, one way or another, do the pumpkin proud.

Restaurant Taverne, Zurich

Nenad Mlinarevic relies on vegetables – not exclusively, but to an extent that would be unthinkable in other restaurants. In this restaurant, animal-based ingredients are used only occasionally, when they fulfil a particular purpose. Pumpkins don’t generally require backup of this kind. The chef uses this autumn vegetable not only in its fresh form, but also preserved or dried, aiming to create a completely new flavour experience for the diner. Those who’d like to eat meat and fish can go a couple of hundred metres further on, to the Bauernschänke “farmers’ tavern”, another Mlinarevic restaurant.

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Auberge du Col de Soud, Villars-sur-Ollon

Few restaurants focus so strongly on seasonal specialities as this inn, which is managed with huge commitment by Karin and Christoph Fahner. The pumpkin theme, which comes to the fore at the beginning of autumn in this idyllically-set hostelry, offers guests some out-of-the-ordinary creations. Many varieties of pumpkin become down-to-earth, but delicious dishes – from butternut squash to spaghetti pumpkin.

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Brasserie Obstberg, Berne

Over the last 12 years, the Obstberg has once again become one of Bern’s best and most loved restaurants, under the guidance of Irene and Lukas Uehlinger. It’s a place where you can enjoy simple pleasures, as it has been since it opened in 1908. For example, the seasonal cuisine boasts a pumpkin risotto that achieves perfect flavour and melting texture with fine slices of Belper Knolle cheese. The tarte tatin to end the meal is not, indeed, prepared with pumpkins, but it’s excellent nonetheless.

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Restaurant Le Pérolles, Fribourg

Pierre-André Ayer, one of Switzerland’s most renowned chefs, has no thoughts of retirement. His cellar gourmet restaurant is very French and one for the discerning. Guests come from afar to try the great value lunchtime menu or to enjoy each course of an evening meal with the best wines. The chef and his team prepare some exciting pumpkin-based dishes, with the rather rare Moschus variety, for example.

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Landgasthof Bären, Utzenstorf

Chef Martin Thommen learned the art of preparing vegetables from Oskar Marti, a.k.a. Chrüteroski “Vegetable Oskar”, and from André Jaeger in the Fischerzunft restaurant in Schaffhausen. And he knows that as well as being served fresh as a vegetable (for example to accompany a steamed cod steak with champagne sauce), pumpkin can also be made into a preserve. In this historic inn, which dates back to the 13th century, sweet-sour pumpkin pickles are served as a relish to go with smoked wild boar ham, to name but one dish.

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Gasthof Krone Blatten, Malters

Raphael Tuor knows exactly which market stalls he is visiting for the time being. These days he sees orange in shades of all kinds. Because game season is also pumpkin season – and at Krone Blatten, the best pumpkins are being made into wonderful dishes and accompaniments. He waits eagerly for news that the first grouse are coming, or that the first deer or chamois have been shot in early September. A mushroom collector brings the first porcini and chanterelle mushrooms from Glaubenberg. Colourful pumpkins of all kinds are ready for further preparation. Game season means snug, cosy times at home, with many subtle aromas and creative dishes.

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