I bought a slice of grey pumpkin on the weekend. I'm not sure exactly which variety it is, but I suspect it may be a Jarrahdale. I rarely cook with pumpkin - I've made pumpkin soup maybe two or three times, and that's it. It's fabulous stuff, but what with making the stock from scratch and all, it can take up hours of the day. So I decided to try something different this time.
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| a slice of grey pumpkin |
Ideas were running through my head. I considered pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin scones and pumpkin pudding. But in the midst of it all I suddenly felt a craving for some good ol' homestyle chunky pumpkin jam on a slice of crispy toast. I don't even know where that came from, as I'm pretty sure I've not had anything like that before. But the weather has been a little temperamental lately (it's springtime here, and I got caught in hail last week!) and the idea of some mushy pumpkin goodness just seemed, well, comforting. So I came up with my own recipe to fulfill my vision of this imaginary pumpkin jam I had in my head.
approximately 500g pumpkin, cubed (the smaller the cubes, the faster it will cook)
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1 tablespoon butter (optional - omit for a lighter and vegan version)
juice of 1 small lemon
toasted almond flakes, for mixing in or sprinkling on top
spices, to taste (I only had cinnamon, but other popular spices that go with pumpkin are nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice)
- Put pumpkin cubes, butter, raw sugar, blackstrap molasses, lemon juice and spices together in a pot.
- Bring to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally.
- When the pumpkin is soft enough, mash it up with a fork or puree in a blender or food processor.
- The pumpkin jam is ready to eat now if you like! Or you can continue along with the following steps...
- Preheat oven to 190c/375F.
- Put pumpkin mixture in a baking dish and bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
- Mix in the toasted almond flakes or sprinkle on top of the jam before serving.
- It's best served hot!
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| use like pumpkin jam and spread on toast... |
So I got my baked pumpkin almond jam, which is probably more like a sweet pumpkin mash than your typical jam, and I am quite pleased with it. Because it's not too sugary, it's something I would eat even on its own as a warm dessert. I snuck in a few spoonfuls before spreading it on toast for brunch. If you're feeling omnivorous and craving a savoury touch, you can top it with some fried bacon as well!
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| or treat it as pumpkin mash with crispy fried bacon on top! |
Fried bacon!? You had me right there. I've never cooked with black pumpkin before. I'm not even sure I've seen them at our stores. Does it taste much differently than regular pumpkin? And I'm sorry about you having hail :( That just sucks. At least you have tasty treats to come home to!
ReplyDeleteThe pumpkin is actually quite a pale grey, it looks darker and bluer in the picture than it actually is. I don't eat pumpkin that often so it's hard to say, but I don't think it is much different to the more common pumpkin varieties. It's pretty nice! :)
ReplyDeleteTo me, the easiest way is to roast them with spices and when done, just nibble them off the skin. I am too lazy to even make it to other dishes :O
ReplyDeleteHeheh, yeah I'm lazy too so that way is always a good one! Though this is fairly simple as well and I had some extra time that day. :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like something I just heard of...'pumpkin butter'...same thing different name? Or is it different?
ReplyDeleteAnd the almonds are a nice touch. The pumpkin jam looks delicious!
It's probably very similar... if I pureed it and skipped the oven part, then I imagine it would be very much like pumpkin butter!
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