Serving - 6 Cups
October in Costa Rica is the tail end of the rainy season. This means that the dry season or summer is just around the corner. At the end of the rainy season, pumpkins here are plentiful because they continue to grow abundantly despite the monsoon-like conditions. This coincides perfectly with "pumpkin season" or fall in the United States. Costa Rica and the United States might not share the season of summer at the same time, but they do grow the majority of their pumpkins at the same time. For this reason, I am able to share my favorite pumpkin recipes with you. Why not take the two greatest foods that make fall so beloved and put them together? I hope you enjoy the Costa Rican version of traditional apple sauce.
Ingredients:
6 sweet medium-sized apples
4 cups of chunked pumpkin (ayote sazón)
1 cup of apple juice - No Added Sugar
1 Tbsp of cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
Instructions:
1. Peel, slice, and core 6 medium-sized sweet apples.
2. Cube and peel 4 cups of pumpkin.
3. Place apples, cubed pumpkin, and cloves into a kettle. Pour in 1 cup of apple juice and fill the remainder of the kettle with water. Boil on medium-high heat for at least 40 minutes or until ingredients are soft.
4. Drain the water from the kettle and place the drained pumpkin and apples into a bowl. Remove the cloves from the ingredients and discard.
5. Mash the softened ingredients with a potato masher if you enjoy your applesauce chunky. If you enjoy your applesauce smooth, then place the ingredients in the blender.
6. Add cinnamon, vanilla, and honey to your mixture. Either stir in your ingredients or turn on the blender for a few rotations.
7. Let the pumpkin apple sauce cool and then place it into the refrigerator.
8. Enjoy
Additional Information:
This recipe would be perfect to use as homemade baby food. Remove the apple juice, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, and honey. Use only the apples, pumpkin, and water. Remember using honey to sweeten foods for kids under the age of one can cause infant botulism. I would also highly suggest using a blender or food processor.
If you do not have apple juice in your refrigerator, please do not fret. You can easily use only water to boil the pumpkin and apples. The sugar from the apples themselves and the honey will give this dish the sweetness that it needs.
Pumpkins can be very difficult to peel prior to boiling or cooking. I often first cut my pumpkin in half to remove all of the seeds. Then I cut the pumpkin into quarters. I have found that a vegetable peeler works very well for removing the peel or skin. This way I don't have to worry about cutting or injuring myself with a knife.
Pumpkins grown in Costa Rica are of a different variety compared to the United States. Here they are called ayote sazón and their scientific name is Cucurbita Maxima. Ayote sazón is mainly green with hues of orange. It is most often more wide than tall. I'll place a picture below for you to view.
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