.png)
Last year I discovered a delicious recipe for lemon curd that stretches the lemons a little further using apples. It came at a perfect time for apple season when we were disappearing under apples that were a little too tart for eating raw. It proved to be a big hit with the family, especially my 13 year old son and I was happy for him to eat as much as he wanted knowing that this was filled with homegrown and homemade ingredients.
So when Halloween ended, and I found myself with about 8 kilos of pumpkins I started to wonder if I could use any fruit pulp in the apple lemon curd recipe. And the answer was yes!! I've made pumpkin lemon curd lots of times since then and tweaked my recipe until I think I have something that is just right.
The combination of smooth pumpkin puree and tangy lemon, and the addition of butter make this the ideal topping for toast, bread, yoghurt or risgrøt (Nordic rice pudding). In fact it goes well with so many things.
I use the English method of preserving for this. The jars need to be undamaged with lids that screw on securely. You can reuse old jam jars, but steer clear of pickle jars unless you want your pumpkin curd to taste of vinegar! The jars are sterilised and heated and the hot curd is poured into them and the lids put on immediately. That's it. No waterbath canning and further heating. The curd will keep happily in a cool dark place for a good 4 weeks. Once opened it will need to be refrigerated. I have to say that mine never seems to last that long though!!!
A note about the recipe:
Use fresh pumpkin puree if you can. It's important that it's unsweetened because we're adding sugar. For a smooth finish sieve your puree before using. It takes a few minutes longer but you'll be grateful for that professional look.
5 Ingredient Pumpkin Lemon Curd. Makes 3 x 8oz/225g jars
Ingredients
400g / 14.1 oz pumpkin puree, unsweetened and preferably fresh
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons (about 100ml / 3.4 fl oz juice)
125g / 4.4 oz butter
450g / 15.8 oz white, granulated sugar
4-5 eggs, beaten. You will need 200ml / 6.75 fl oz beaten egg
Method
Preheat the oven to 100C/200F
The first step is to sterilise the jars. Wash them really well and place them on a tray in the oven with the lids off. Leave them in there for 30 minutes and start preparing the curd. At the end of the 30 minutes you can turn the oven off but leave the jars in the oven to stay warm.
Put the pumpkin puree, sugar, lemon zest, juice and butter into a saucepan and heat on medium until the butter and sugar have melted and it is glossy and smooth.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. If we add the eggs when it's too hot they will curdle.
Sieve the beaten eggs into the pumpkin, This is an important step and shouldn't be skipped. If the eggs aren't sieved the pumpkin curd won't be smooth. You can help the beaten egg through the sieve by pushing it through with a metal spoon.
Return the pan to a medium heat and cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula for about 15 minutes until the curd is hot, shiny and thick. Try not to let it boil.
Remove the warm jars from the oven and pour the hot curd straight into them leaving about a 1cm/ 1/2 inch gap at the top. Put the lids on immediately. When you have filled them all, wipe the jars and tighten up the lids even further.
Allow the jars of curd to cool and thicken before eating (if you can wait that long).
Pumpkin lemon curd will keep happily for about 4 weeks in a cool dark place. Once you've opened a jar keep it in the fridge.
Why not try it on something different? I like a spoonful on some risgrøt (Norwegian rice pudding), or in plain yoghurt with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds for breakfast.
Vær så god!
For more Nordic living inspiration, join us in the Living a Nordic Life Facebook group. We'd love to see you there.