Pumpkin Season – Recipes

It is the Pumpkin Season. Enjoy some of the recipes with pumpkin that Bulgarians like to cook. They are mostly sweet dishes.

Have a look at the sweet recipes for Pumpkin Banitsa (Tikvenik), Baked Pumpkin, Baked pumpkin with milk, Pumpkin with walnuts:

 

Pumpkin Banitsa (Tikvenik)

For the dough:

• 2 lbs flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp melted butter (or oil)
• 2 cups lukewarm water

For the filling:

• 1 lb pumpkin
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 5 tbsp oil

Preparation: 

1. Stew the pumpkin in some water and the half of the butter.

2. Mix together all the ingredients for the dough and knead a semi-soft dough.

3. Divide the dough into 12 balls.

4. Roll out each ball to a thin sheet.

5. Put the filling ingredients (pumpkin, sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon) on top of each sheet lengthwise.

6. Roll the sheets.

7. Arrange the rolls in a baking dish. Shape them as one big coil starting from the middle of the dish and going toward the edge.

8. Pour the remaining butter on top.

9. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown at 390°F. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar

and vanilla.

Hint: You can also use filo dough sheets instead of rolling your own.

 

Baked Pumpkin

• 1 medium-sized pumpkin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dried fruits
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Cut off the top of the pumpkin. Do not discard the cut-off top. Be careful not to break or crack the pumpkin. Clean the seeds of the pumpkin.

2. Stuff the pumpkin with the dried fruits, walnuts, honey, and cinnamon.

3. Cover the pumpkin with the top part that you cut off in step 1.

4. Bake the entire pumpkin in a tray for one hour and a half at 380°F.

5. Take the stuffing out of the pumpkin. Be careful as it is probably hot.

6. Cut the pumpkin in pieces. Serve the pieces topped with the stuffing.

 

Baked pumpkin with milk

• 1 small pumpkin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter or vegetable oil
• 1/4 gallon milk
• 1 pack vanilla powder
• A pinch of cinnamon

1. Cut the pumpkin in pieces. Clean the seeds and fiber from each piece.

2. Coarsely grate the pumpkin pieces.

3. Add the flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon.

4. Pour the mixture in a buttered tray and bake for about 15 minutes at 380°F.

5. Stir and add the milk.

6. Bake again until a golden crust forms on top.

 

Pumpkin with walnuts

• 1 small pumpkin
• 2 cups crushed walnuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs

1. Clean the pumpkin and cut it in pieces.

2. Put a porcelain plate on the bottom of a pot, arrange the pumpkin pieces with the crust up, pour in a cup of water,  over and stew them for about 10 minutes.

3. When the pumpkin is cooked, remove the crust and mash the rest (the meaty part).

4. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and add the walnuts.

5. Butter a baking dish and pour in the mixture.

6. Bake at 340°F until a crust forms. Serve warm.

 

Have a sweet pumpkin season! 🙂

For many more tasty recipes have a look at the the Bulgarian Cookbook (English Edition)