Paul Virant's Pumpkin Butter
Turn any winter squash into this
holiday season's go-to gift, breakfast, and dessert -- an entertaining
triple threat. Virant adds it to ice cream and pumpkin bars, or you can
stir it into plain yogurt and oatmeal, smear it on toast and cake. As
you might expect, this packs well and makes a handsome gift at any scale
you want to make it. It also freezes well, and keeps in the fridge for a
few weeks. Because it's low in acidity, it's not safe for water-bath
canning. Recipe adapted slightly from The Preservation Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2012).
Makes about 6 cups
Roasted Pumpkin or Winter Squash:
-
5
pounds
(2 to 3) pumpkin or winter squash, halved and seeded
-
Vegetable oil for coating
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush the cut sides of the
pumpkins with oil. Place the halves, cut side down, in a baking pan and
roast for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a
knife. (This varies widely depending on the squash variety. A delicata
may cook in 35 minutes while a butternut or kabocha can take 1 hour.)
- Using a spoon, scrape the flesh into a bowl and discard the skins.
Pumpkin Butter:
-
6
cups
(3 pounds) roasted pumpkin or winter squash pulp
-
2
cups
(12 ounces) lightly packed brown sugar
-
1
stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed
-
1
teaspoon
kosher salt
-
1
teaspoon
cinnamon, ground
-
1/2
teaspoon
nutmeg, freshly grated
-
1/2
teaspoon
ginger, ground
-
1/4
teaspoon
cloves, ground
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a bowl, mix together the
roasted pumpkin, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and
cloves. Spread onto a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and bake, stirring every
15 minutes with a spatula, until the pumpkin has become thick and
slightly caramelized, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Give it a good stir at the end; it should be smooth and
spreadable. If the pumpkin is too fibrous for your liking, blend it in a
food processor to even out the texture. If it is thicker than you'd
like, you can thin it with a little water.
- Cool and refrigerate or freeze in a couple of plastic deli containers until ready to use.
By Genius Recipes (Food 52)
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