HALLOWEEN shouldn’t end with tons of pumpkin waste, warns Oxfordshire County Council, as residents are encouraged to eat the scary treat after it's done being used for decoration.

Every year, thousands of pumpkins are carved and lit up to celebrate on October 31, but much of what is scooped out could be eaten rather than binned.

The council’s message is: “Carve it, cook it, eat it – don’t bin it!”

The Oxford Pumpkin Festival aims to do just that, as a celebration of food, creatively encouraging people to think about the food they throw away.

As it gets underway, a list of recipes and tips have been shared on the council website to give residents ideas on what to do with the excess pumpkin innards.

Some of the delicious recipes are as follows:

Oxford's own Great British Bake Off star Christine Wallace's pumpkin soup - Add onion, carrots, and celery to heated oil/butter in a pan, add pumpkin flesh and chucks of potato. Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer till tender. Whiz ingredients through the blender till smooth.

Christine's pumpkin pie with raisins- Place the pumpkin flesh in a pan and cover with water, Bring to the boil and simmer until soft. In a separate bowl, add flour, butter, salt, icing sugar, eggs, vanilla extract into a smooth dough, and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes. Roll the dough out and bake for 15 minutes. Lightly puree the pumpkin flesh in a blender. In a different bowl stir together the sugar, salt, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix in the eggs, soft butter and milk then stir in the pumpkin puree. Pour into the pastry case and bake for 35 minutes.

Pumpkin and carrot fritters - Grate pumpkins and carrots into a mix of other vegetables including finely chopped garlic, one thumb-sized ginger, lemons, coriander, cayenne, and fennel seeds. Add to flour and egg mix. Add salt (and other seasoning). Then fry on rapeseed or vegetable oil. 

Pumpkin and pear soup -  Add pumpkin into caramelised onion, season with salt and add hot stock, simmer until pumpkin is tender. Meanwhile, put the pumpkin seeds in the oven, until toasted. Peel the pears and chop coarsely, then add to the soup and heat through. Transfer the soup to a blender or use a hand-held stick blender to blend until smooth, then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with cheese and the toasted pumpkin seeds to add a little crunch. 

Pumpkin ketchup - In a heavy saucepan, mix diced pumpkin with salt, choppped onion, pepper, turmeric, allspice, vinegar, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Pour into hot sterilized jars. 

Other recipes and tips to reduce food waste can be found here