Pumpkin pickles – pompoenpickles (GF-DF-V)

Another pickle!

Pickling, I like the word; it reminds me of picking fruits from trees or plants, but also refers to the sensation when you put a piece of pickle in your mouth: salt, sweet, bitter, tangy. It is all about the Umphhfff!!

In South-India you always get a little bit of home-made pickle as a side dish, to stimulate digestion. They don’t bother to peel or slice their pickles neatly, no way, often you bite in half a lime or a piece of unidentifiable bark; it is always a surprise. Sometimes it’s so hot your eyes start to cry by only the faintest whiff of the smell and the other time you ask for more because of the accomplished taste, so good with the rice and veggies on your coconut leave plate.

Indian people are always very happy when you ask for pickles, a lot of visitors don’t like it, so when they don’t give it to you in the first place: ask for pickles! You make friends forever.

Everywhere you come, people have some ingredients drying outside in the sun, leaves, bark or peppers and limes, mixed with salt and spices. Next year I am going to learn to make some.

After making you curious about Indian pickling, I today give you a very Dutch pickle:

I adapted the recipe from Yvette van Bovens’ great book Home Made.

Pumpkin pickles (1 big pot)

150 ml white wine vinegar

250 ml water

2 tbsp cane sugar(you can leave it out)

6 cloves

1 piece of mace

1 cinnamon stick

6 cardamom pods, crushed

1-2 red chillies

400g pumpkin, peeled, sliced in strips or  cubes

Bring all ingredients, except the pumpkin, to the boil and let it softly simmer for 10 minutes.

Then add the pumpkin and cook together for another 8 minutes. They will stay crisp!

Sterilize a big glass pot and pour or scoop the pumpkin in with all the lovely juices. Screw the lid on and place it upside down to cool completely.

Keep in the fridge for at least 3 days, the flavours will develop in this time.

You can eat the pickles on a sandwich, in a salad, with some French cheese, with polenta etc.

After opening always use a clean fork to get them out and the pickles will be good for at least 2 weeks, when they last that long;-)

Pompoenpickles (1 grote pot)

150 ml witte wijnazijn

250 ml water

2 el rietsuiker (kan ook zonder)

6 kruidnagels

1 stukje foelie

1 kaneelstokje

6 kardemompeulen, geef er even een klap op zodat ze open springen

1-2 rode pepers

400g pompoen, geschild en in lange reepjes of blokjes

Breng alle ingrediënten, behalve de pompoen, aan de kook en laat zachtjes 10 minuten inkoken. Voeg dan de reepjes of blokjes pompoen toe en laat 8 minuten meekoken.

Giet of schep dan alles in een gesteriliseerde pot, draai het deksel erop en keer om. Laat helemaal afkoelen voordat je de pot minimaal 3 dagen in de koelkast zet, zodat de smaak zich kan ontwikkelen.

Eet deze pickles op een broodje, bij een stuk Franse kaas, als bijgerecht van een pittige rijstroerbak, met polenta, etc.

Na openen altijd een schone vork gebruiken om de pickles uit de pot te prikken. Zo blijven deze heerlijke pompoenpickles zeker 2 weken goed .