Pumpkin is a favorite vegetable of South Africa. Most restaurants serve pumpkin, spinach and vegetable dishes to main meals and all the mothers who buy for their families. There are many ways you can serve a large variety of available butternut squash pumpkin, pumpkin Herbert, “Boer” pumpkin squash or red, to name a few.
Not all types of squash are seasonal and available to them throughout the year, so you have to use the one in a season at a time. The most common and fastest way to prepare pumpkin in a little boiling water, season with some salt and add cinnamon. Otherwise, you can mix the squash with the flour, salt and egg and bake “pampoenkoekies” in a little oil, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve hot.
Another old recipe, a true recipe for South Africa, is “pampoenmoes. You can cook in the oven or boil in a little water in a saucepan. This is a recipe worth trying:
Ingredients:
- 8 slices white bread
- Butter
- Apricot jam
- 2 cups pumpkin (1 Butternut squash should do. Slice very little)
- Sal
- Sugar
- Canela
Method:
- Butter bread on both sides of apricot jam and spread on the side facing up. Place one layer in an oven proof glass dish, jam side up.
- Cut the squash finely, season lightly with salt and place on top of bread.
- Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the squash.
- Repeat this procedure until all the pumpkin and the bread is consumed, finishing with a layer of pumpkin. Point a couple of clots of butter on top.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour beforehand in an oven heated to 180 C.
Serve hot with pumpkin and vegetables, maybe a nice chicken dish, maybe a pie? This is a great dish to try to impress your friends. It’s easy to do, so try it and see what happens!
