Pumpkin Relish

My last home grown pumpkin has been sitting prettily in my kitchen for months. The last one…..I am yet to plant this years seeds and have been avoiding eating the last of the previous season’s harvest. That probably sounds silly if you have never grown your own. They filled me with immense pride – seriously! These pumpkins (pictured below) were from my first pumpkin crop so I was a kind of attached to them…..

If you have not tried to grow them give it a try. They are easy to grow – although they do take up some space.

Cutting into a pumpkin that is numerous kilos in weight requires a little thought and planning. You need to be prepared to use it all within a short space of time. What better way to preserve the fabulousness of this gorgeous creation than to preserve it and enjoy it for many months to come? I can’t think of a better way – except maybe these pumpkin pancakes that make a regular appearance on our weekend breakfast menu.

I love that the pumpkin kept its shape, even when cooked for an hour and a half. A mushy relish would be equally lovely but I really like the texture of this relish. It has a little kick from the addition of the chilli.

I am looking forward to serving this relish with chicken. Mr Fresh is looking forward to trying it with eggs. If it is eggs and bacon I will give that a go first too. Allow this relish to sit for approximately 4 weeks to allow the flavors to mellow and meld nicely – or if you can’t wait, get stuck into the first jar and when you have finished that the next will be aged to perfection!

A recipe for Pickled Pumpkin by Diane Henry in her book Salt, Sugar Smoke inspired this recipe.

How would you eat your last pumpkin? Please share with me via the comments below.

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{ 6 comments… add one }

Lovely, Kyrstie! I have had no success with pumpkins in my current home garden, but would love to keep trying! Nice recipe. Thanks for sharing.

Yes keep trying Liz, try an alternate variety.

this is such a nice recipe – I’ve never thought of making a pumpkin relish.

Thanks Amanda, we have gone through the first couple of jars very quickly. It is lovely

We have a huge crop of pumpkin this year, over 100kg from 2 self seed plants and as I am the only one to eat pumpkin in our house that is a lot to use. I am going to try this one out.

Hi Mike, wow that is alot of pumpkin from two plants! Usually I only get a few per plant so your’s must have been big ones. Enjoy your harvest.