Pumpkin and Ginger Jam

I picked this pumpkin and ginger jam recipe to feature on Pumpkin Festival, a Polish food blog event hosted by Bea from Moja Kuchnia food blog (the blog is also available in French here). It was easy to make and came out delicious. What I particularly like about it, is that the jam isn't too sweet and has a lovely slightly spicy ginger flavor which goes perfectly with the mild pumpkin taste. The author of this lovely recipe is Pille from Nami Nami food blog. You can check the original recipe on her blog here.


Pumpkin and Ginger Jam

Makes 4 jars (250 ml each)
1 kg pumpkin , diced
60 g freshly grated ginger
1 lemon
200 ml water
500 g jam sugar (with pectin)

1. Wash and dry the lemon . Grate the zest. Remove the white pith and discard. Cut the lemon flesh into small pieces.
2. Place the pumpkin, water, lemon flesh and ginger in a large heavy bottomed pot. Cover and simmer until soft. Remove the lid for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking to enable the extra moisture to evaporate.
3. Smash the pumpkin with a wooden spoon , or if you want a very smooth jam, press through a fine sieve.
4. Add sugar and lemon zest. Cook for 10 minutes.
5. Spoon hot jam into sterilized jars and close immediately.

Print the recipe

Recipe in Polish:
Dżem z dyni z imbirem

Creamy Carrot and Coconut Milk Soup

This is a truly delicious soup, amazingly thick and creamy with whole range of wonderful aromas and flavors; the recipe for the soup comes from a Polish cookbook Smak życia (Taste of Life) written by a model, Agnieszka Maciąg. The book is a wonderful collection of delicious and healthy recipes from all over the world. There’s Japanese miso soup recipe, as well as Thai salad with crab, herring cooked Swedish way, and recipe for cookies from a Polish magazine, issue 1937. The recipes are accompanied with beautiful pictures of food and places from which the recipes come from. Looking at all those wonderful photographs you can almost smell and taste all the delicious meals as well as feel the atmosphere of all the wonderful places shown in the pictures. Agnieszka talks about food with passion and curiosity. For her cooking is pleasure and trying new dishes an adventure.

“In Brazil women laugh while cooking, so that there’s joy and love in their food. Cooking is a creative process. In the kitchen we become artists of life. We experience the sacred in ordinary things. For me cooking is not chemistry, it’s magic.’’

says Agnieszka, and I fully agree with that ;)

Creamy Carrot and Coconut Soup
(adapted from Smak życia by Agnieszka Maciąg)

serves 2

½ kg carrots, diced

1 tbsp butter

0,5 inch (1-2 cm) fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

375 ml (1 ½ cup) vegetable stock

1 cup (250 ml) canned coconut milk

½ lemon, juice of

salt

¼ tea spoon nutmeg

1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

1. Heat the butter in a large heavy bottomed pan, add the carrots and pepper. Sauté for a few minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Add the ginger, a pinch of salt and nutmeg.
3. Pour in warm vegetable stock, cover with a lid and simmer until the carrots are soft. If there's not enough stock to cover the carrots, add some water.
4. Stir in coconut milk, cook for 3 minutes more.
5. Add the lemon juice.
6. In blender or food processor, puree soup until smooth.
7. Sprinkle with coriander leaves.

Przepis po polsku:
Krem z marchewki z mlekiem kokosowym

Easter Braided Bread

This bread is something my family is always looking forward most on our Easter table. I made it first a few years ago using a recipe from a magazine – I can’t remember now what exactly was the magazine. The bread is truly wonderful, tender and fluffy; filled with a whole range of grains it’s just a wonderful combination of textures and flavors.


Easter Braided Bread

600 g flour
20 g fresh yeast (also known as compressed yeast or cake yeast)
2 tbsp sugar
1- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
375 ml (1 ½ cup) slightly warm water

100 g carrots, grated
2 tbsp pistachios, chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds

3 tbsp finely ground almonds
1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Crumble the yeast in a large bowl. Add 100 g of flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar and all the water. Stir to combine. Cover with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set aside for 30 min.
2. In a big bowl combine the remaining flour, sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Fold in the yeast mixture; knead to form dense, smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for another 30 min.
3. When the dough’s doubled in size, knead for 1-2 minutes, then divide into three equal parts.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
5. Combine the grated carrots, pistachios, lemon juice, and ginger together. Add to one part of the dough, knead until the carrots are incorporated. Add more flour if sticky.
6. Knead the second part of the dough with poppy seeds and sunflower seeds and the third part with ground almonds and sesame seeds.
7. Roll each piece into a long strand. Lay the strands side by side and gently braid them.
8. Place the woven dough in a wreath shape on a greased cookie sheet, tucking the ends under. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
9. Brush with water. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Przepis po polsku:
Wielkanocny warkocz