Pumpkin and Dried Apricot Pastry Filling for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Wash the pumpkin and cut away the tough skin with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife. Cut the pumpkin into slices about a centimeter (1/2 inch) thick. I'm using butternut squash. Try not to take off too much flesh along with the skin—a peeler keeps waste to a minimum.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the pumpkin into roughly 1-centimeter (1/2-inch) cubes. This is the classic way to cut pumpkin for any jam.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cover the pumpkin with the sugar, stir, and seal the bowl with plastic wrap so nothing falls into the jam-to-be. Let the pumpkin sit at room temperature for an hour to release its juices.

4. Step 4:

   

   Here's how much juice the pumpkin gave off after an hour.

5. Step 5:

   

   Put the pumpkin and its juice in an appropriately sized pot and cook over the lowest heat for twenty minutes, stirring now and then so it doesn't scorch. The pumpkin should simmer, not fry—so if there isn't enough juice, carefully add a little boiling water. Just a touch, no more than 100 ml for this amount of pumpkin. And mind your hands!

6. Step 6:

   

   Of course, everyone's stove is different, so some of you—like me—may need to cover the pot with a lid to cut down on moisture loss.

7. Step 7:

   

   Here are my dark dried apricots—which are actually the most natural kind. This is what apricots look like if you dry them yourself in the sun. Mine have no added oil, so I just rinsed them under running water. If yours are the bright-orange kind, be sure to pour boiling water over them to wash the oil off the surface.

8. Step 8:

   

   Cut the dried apricots to roughly the same size as the pumpkin pieces. The filling will look more uniform that way.

9. Step 9:

   

   Add the dried apricots to the pot with the pumpkin and cook for about twenty minutes more. The mixture should come back to a boil and the apricots should heat through.

10. Step 10:

    

    First scrub the jars with a brush and baking soda. Pour about 50 ml of water into each and sterilize them in the microwave at 800 watts for two minutes. The larger the jar, the longer it needs—a 1-liter jar, for example, takes three minutes at the same power. Of course, every microwave is different; your cue is the water boiling inside the jar. Just wash the lids, pour boiling water over them, and leave them like that until you need them.

11. Step 11:

    

    Once the mixture has cooked down, add the lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Only add the nutmeg if you like it—it's a fairly assertive spice that not everyone enjoys, and you only need a tiny pinch. To my taste, nutmeg pairs beautifully with pumpkin. Stir everything together.

12. Step 12:

    

    Spoon the filling into the jars and screw on the lids. Turn them upside down and wrap them in a towel. Leave until completely cool, then store in a cool place.