Tempura Pumpkin with Basil Aïoli

Moving away from traditional American recipes, we took inspiration from Japanese cooking with this perfect fall snack. The softness of pumpkin coupled with salty fried batter, and the creaminess of the aioli, make for a delightful mouthfeel in our pumpkin tempura.

Serves 2–4

For the aïoli
Makes about 1 pint

1 cup basil leaves, packed tight
1–2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated on a microplane
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup neutral oil (safflower, sunflower or avocado work well)

Roughly chop the basil leaves and add them to your blender (or food processor, which works just fine). Add the garlic, egg yolks, Dijon, vinegar and lemon juice and blend until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the blender to make sure everything is evenly mixed. 

While the blender is running, dribble in the oil slowly in the thinnest stream possible. It’s important not to dump the oil in all at once, because the gradual addition of oil to the egg and mustard mixture is what will emulsify the sauce into an aïoli.

Once all of the oil has been incorporated, season with salt to taste and scrape out the finished aïoli with a rubber spatula. This condiment is delicious on everything from sandwiches to shellfish, and we especially love it with tempura veggies. 

For the tempura
Serves 2–4

1 medium sized pumpkin or squash
2 large eggs, cold
2 cups flour, sifted
2 cups water with several ice cubes added
Oil for frying 

Fill a large, thick bottomed pot with 4” of oil. Pick a pot that has high sides and a nice heavy base. This will regulate the heating and temperature of the oil, which makes for more even frying. Set this pot over medium heat until the oil reaches a temperature of 375°F. This takes a few minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare the pumpkin for frying. Cut the entire pumpkin in half, scrape out the seeds and guts until the flesh is smooth and uniform. Remove the outer skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut the pumpkin pieces in half vertically, making four quarters of a sphere. Slice the quarters again vertically into long, ½-inch thick strips. Keep in mind not to cut the strips too thick, or they will take too long to cook fully in the oil. Continue until you have cut the entire pumpkin into strips of the same thickness. Due to the curvature of the fruit, some strips will be longer than others—this is fine, as long as they are all relatively the same thickness.

Set up a “drop zone”, or a place where the pumpkin will cool and rest once it is removed from the oil, like a wire rack placed over a sheet tray, or a large bowl or dish lined with paper towels.

Place a long-handled metal slotted spoon or “spider” strainer near the heating pot of oil.

When the oil reaches the proper temperature, crack the eggs into a deep mixing bowl. Whisk until homogenous. Add the ice water and mix again, then add the flour. Mix, gently, trying to prevent too many air bubbles from forming. Some small clumps are good, so don’t over mix. The less you agitate the batter, the better. (Chopsticks are a better mixing tool than a whisk.) Once everything is combined, drop in a handful of your pumpkin sticks. Coat them evenly with the batter, and then using tongs (or chopsticks), remove them from the bowl and drop them into the oil one by one. Once this batch of pumpkin has been added to the oil, place the tempura batter in the fridge to keep cold while they cook. 

The pumpkin slices should float right to the top, but depending on the water content of the pumpkin, some may sink to the bottom of the pot. This is fine, just give them a slight nudge off the bottom and they should rise right up. Make sure to adjust the heat of the oil so that it stays at 375°F. Adding lots of ice cold batter and veggies will definitely drop the temperature significantly, so adjust accordingly. 

Once the slices are golden brown they are ready to be removed from the oil with the slotted spoon. Place them in the “drop zone” and season with salt and pepper. Repeat the frying process as many times as necessary, or until you run out of pumpkin or tempura batter. Serve hot with the basil aïoli for dunking.

This recipe appeared as an online exclusive in November 2019 as part of a larger story on Pumpkins.