Pattypan Squash Caviar for Winter
A wonderful spread made from fresh summer pattypan squash. What could be better than homemade winter preserves? There's nothing like opening a jar of this fragrant squash caviar on a cold winter evening and serving it with, say, baked potatoes (or just some rye bread) to make the night feel cozy and homey.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
To start, peel the onion and cut it into small dice. Peel the garlic and chop it finely with a knife. If the garlic isn't fresh or has started to sprout (that is, you can see the green core), remove that core first.
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Step 2:
Wash, peel, and grate the carrot on a coarse grater. When grating vegetables, I always use my favorite trick: I stick a fork into the vegetable so I don't nick my fingers.
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Step 3:
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep skillet and sauté the onion, garlic, and carrot.
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Step 4:
Then add the diced pattypan squash and tomato. Add a little hot water and simmer the vegetables until softened. Then add salt, sugar, spices, and pepper to taste. At this point I also add a little apple cider vinegar.
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Step 5:
Once the vegetables are tender and most of the liquid has cooked off, you can purée the mixture. I use an immersion blender for this. If you're worried about scratching your skillet (though mine came through just fine), transfer the vegetables to another container first.
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Step 6:
Wash your bail-top (swing-top) jars and rinse them inside with boiling water, and don't forget the lids.
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Step 7:
Boil the rubber sealing rings for five to seven minutes.
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Step 8:
Spoon the caviar into the jars — remember to rinse your ladle (or spoon) with boiling water first. Fit the sealing rings onto the lids and clamp the wire bail shut.
- After that, line the bottom of a tall pot with a kitchen towel and set the jars on it. Add water to about 1 cm above the lids — the jars should be fully submerged. I process 0.75-liter jars for about 12–15 minutes. Air will escape from under the lids during this — that's exactly as it should be. After processing, wrap the jars and let them cool completely without turning them over. I haven't used roll-up canning jars in a couple of years now — I find it fussy and tedious. Mostly I do my preserves in screw-top jars or in bail-top jars made specially for sterilizing. Use whatever spices you like — basil, cardamom, khmeli-suneli, even mint. I add the vinegar more for flavor, since I like a spicier caviar; you can leave it out entirely. I keep this caviar in the refrigerator, and as a rule it rarely lasts into deep winter, simply because my family loves it so much.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Onion - 41 kcal/100g
- Tomatoes - 23 kcal/100g
- Carrots - 33 kcal/100g
- Dried carrots - 275 kcal/100g
- Boiled carrots - 25 kcal/100g
- Garlic - 143 kcal/100g
- Vegetable oil - 873 kcal/100g
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Spices dry - 240 kcal/100g
- Apple cider vinegar - 14 kcal/100g
- Patisson - 18 kcal/100g
