Pumpkin Dutch Baby Pancake with Bacon-Roasted Beans + Oregano

Every week, Caroline Wright creates simple, civilized recipes for Food52 that feed four -- for under $20, in under 20 minutes.

Today: As fall turns to winter, let your pantry be your guide. 

As the seasons begin to change, so do the contents of my pantry. The bounty of fresh produce in summer and fall begins to wane, and I make room in my market bag for grains and canned beans and tomatoes. This recipe uses one of my favorite fall and winter ingredients for a quick meal: canned pumpkin. (Of course, preparing and pureeing fresh pumpkin is my preference -- it’s a cinch, but the pure canned stuff works well, too.) The pumpkin accents the custardy texture of the puffed pancake, and the roasted beans and bacon round out the plate for a hearty serving.

This recipe works perfectly, too, with Thanksgiving leftovers -- substitute the pumpkin with an equal heap of leftover mashed sweet potatoes if you’re feeling resourceful in addition to just hungry. 

Pumpkin Dutch Baby Pancake with Bacon-Roasted Beans + Oregano

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 sprigs oregano
3 large eggs
1/2 cup canned pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

As a freelance food writer and cook, I first wrote this style of recipe as a column on my blog, The Wright Recipes, as an excuse to cook good food for my friends in a quick and simple way. 

Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute™ Meals grew into a cookbook that was published by Workman in May 2013. The recipes found here are original, made especially for Food52 to once again celebrate simple food with friends.

Photo by Caroline Wright