Quick and easy pumpkin caviar recipes for the winter that will make you lick your fingers.

High yields on pumpkin farms make it possible to create delicious and beautiful preserves from this easy-to-grow vegetable. Traditional zucchini and eggplant dishes have begun to lose ground, losing popularity to, for example, such a healthy and delicious preserve as pumpkin caviar, prepared for the winter.

The specifics of preparing pumpkin caviar for the winter

The main ingredient in caviar is pumpkin—a vitamin-rich vegetable that's easy to prepare at home for the winter. To begin the process, the pumpkin is properly prepared—its tough skin, seeds, and tough fibers are removed. The pumpkin flesh is either chopped into pieces or processed using a grater.

Additional ingredients for the future caviar, such as onions, garlic, and carrots, are washed, chopped, and simmered in a cauldron along with the pumpkin. Depending on the specific recipe, spices, bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes are added to the above vegetables.

For added flavor, the pumpkin and vegetables are baked in the oven. Once the vegetables are soft enough, they are salted and seasoned as desired. If the recipe doesn't call for tomatoes, they can be substituted with tomato paste or sauce.

At the final stage of production Pumpkin caviar for the winter, stewed vegetables They are processed into a puree using a masher or blender, placed into already sterilized jars and rolled up.

Selecting and preparing pumpkin

Naturally, pumpkin caviar is primarily made with vegetables that, for a variety of reasons, cannot be stored for long. For example, pumpkins with damaged stems or skin defects. To ensure the quality of the caviar, the fruit used for this winter preserve must be ripe and whole.

Important! The most suitable fruit for preserving caviar for the winter is the so-called butternut squash – a vitamin-rich, cylindrical vegetable with orange flesh.

How to make pumpkin caviar at home

Pumpkin caviar can be cooked over an open fire – in a cauldron, in an oven, a multicooker, in a frying pan, or in a microwave.

According to the rules, vegetables used to preserve caviar are seasoned with herbs and garlic, stewed, and baked in the oven. These caviar recipes are suitable for preparing winter preserves right at home, and the absence of vinegar in some of them makes this vegetable delicacy a dietary option for a cold appetizer.

Classic recipe

The first thing you should pay attention to is the classic vegetable caviar recipe called "Finger-Lickin' Good," which is easy and incredibly quick to prepare.

Ingredients:

• pumpkin – 800 grams;
• onion;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• salt, spices – to taste;
• tomato paste - glass;
• pepper (sweet) – 100 grams.

Preparation: Start the process of preserving the simplest pumpkin caviar for the winter by roasting crushed garlic, sliced ​​bell pepper, and finely chopped onion in a roasting pan. Add the chopped pumpkin and roast it on a preheated stovetop for a couple more minutes. Then continue simmering the vegetables under a closed lid, but at reduced heat.

After half an hour, add tomato paste, salt, and spices to the vegetable ingredients and let the mixture simmer for a few more minutes. Then, the pumpkin caviar should be placed in jars and sealed for the winter.

With curry

Lovers of oriental spices will definitely love this recipe for curry caviar.

Ingredients:

• pumpkin – 1 kilogram;
• carrots – 500 grams;
• onion – 4 pieces;
• vinegar (9) – 1 tablespoon;
• salt, black pepper – to taste;
• curry – 15 grams;
• oil (vegetable type).

Preparation: Peel and seed the pumpkin. Then chop the flesh into small pieces, place it in a cauldron, cover with water, and simmer under the lid.

Next, chop the onion, grate the carrot, and place the mixture in a frying pan with heated oil. Simmer the vegetables over low heat until softened.

Combine the onion and carrot with the pumpkin, then season the vegetables with salt and pepper, add the desired amount of curry powder, and simmer for another 30 minutes, covered. Then, puree the vegetables using a blender.

Place all ingredients in the vessel back on the heat and, once boiling, season with vinegar. The finished caviar should be placed in glass containers and sealed with lids.

With zucchini and mayonnaise

Ingredients:

• pumpkin – 2.5 kilograms;
• zucchini – 1 kilogram;
• onion – 500 grams;
• tomato paste – 1 cup;
• oil (vegetable origin) – ¾ cup;
• mayonnaise – ¾ cup;
• salt, pepper, sugar – to taste;
• bay leaf.

Directions: Process the pumpkin and zucchini in a meat grinder. Chop the onion and add it to the previously prepared vegetable mixture, along with the tomato paste, oil, and mayonnaise. Mix all ingredients thoroughly, transfer to a heavy-bottomed container, and place over high heat. Cooking time for this zucchini caviar with pumpkin and mayonnaise is 1 hour.

Next, add spices and granulated sugar to the vegetable mixture. Simmer the caviar for another hour. A few minutes before it's ready, add a bay leaf to the vegetable puree, remove the caviar from the heat, and arrange it in jars.

In the oven with thyme

Ingredients:

• thyme – 10 grams;
• pumpkin pulp – 1.5 kilograms;
• onion – 2 pieces;
• pepper (sweet) – 2 pieces;
• tomatoes – 3 pieces;
• celery – 2 tablespoons;
• garlic – 4 cloves;
• pepper (black) – to taste;
• salt - to taste;
• oil (olive) – ¾ cup.

Directions: Wash, peel, and seed the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin flesh into small slices. Peel and slice the onion into half rings. Wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds and stems, and then cut into strips. Chop the tomatoes and celery with a kitchen knife.

All the vegetable preparation must be evenly laid out on a baking sheet, previously lined with foil, peppered, salted, seasoned with thyme and sprinkled with oil.

Place the prepared vegetable mixture in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for ¾ of an hour. Afterward, transfer the cooked vegetables from the baking sheet to a bowl and blend with a blender. Divide the finished caviar into sterile jars and seal.

In a multicooker

Ingredients:

• pumpkin pulp – 800 grams;
• bell pepper – 1 piece;
• bulb;
• garlic – 3 cloves;
• tomato paste and ketchup – 50 grams each;
• oil (vegetable);
• salt, spices – to taste.

Directions: Chop the pre-treated pumpkin into small cubes. Peel the onion and chop it finely. Pour vegetable oil into the multicooker bowl, add the onion, and set the multicooker to the "Fry" setting. Once the onion is translucent, add the julienned bell pepper and continue cooking the vegetables on the same setting for at least another 5 minutes.

After the specified time, add the pumpkin pulp to the vegetables and cook the ingredients, but this time on the "Stewing" setting, for another 30 minutes. Then, season the vegetables with tomato, ketchup, salt, and spices, and let them simmer for another 10 minutes until tender.

Once the process is complete, blend the vegetables until smooth, adding the garlic, crushed in a blender. Place the finished caviar into jars and seal with lids.

Through a meat grinder with an apple

Ingredients:

• pumpkin – 500 grams;
• tomatoes – 500 grams;
• carrots – 3 pieces;
• onions – 3 pieces;
• apples – 2 fruits;
• pepper (sweet) – 1 pod;
• garlic – 50 grams;
• oil;
• vinegar;
• sugar, salt – to taste;
• celery root – 50 grams.

Preparation: Peel and dice the apples and vegetables. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges. Chop the onion, celery, and garlic.

The vegetables are laid out on a baking sheet, which is placed in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.

After the vegetables have softened, they are salted, mixed, and cooled. The prepared ingredients are processed through a meat grinder and placed in a saucepan. Vinegar is added to the vegetable puree, and the caviar is brought to a boil.

Afterwards, the finished caviar is packaged in jars and preserved.

With carrots

Ingredients:

• pumpkin – 500 grams;
• onion;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• carrots – 200 grams;
• butter – 0.5 cups;
• spices – to taste.

Directions: Chop the onion and garlic and fry in a pan with oil. Then add the grated carrots and cook until golden brown. Place the diced pumpkin in a microwave-safe bowl, add the fried vegetables, salt, and pepper.

Microwave the dish on high power for about 25-30 minutes. Then, blend the mixture and spoon it into jars while still hot.

Spicy recipe with tomato paste

Spicy pumpkin caviar can be made:

1. When adding hot pepper pods to any of the above recipes.
2. Tomato paste or tomatoes will give this piquant dish a special taste and color.
3. This caviar will retain all its flavor and nutritional properties even in winter when stored in a cellar.

How and how long is caviar stored?

Preserving pumpkin caviar until spring is not particularly difficult if you follow a few rules:

1. Jars for vegetable treats must be thoroughly sterilized.
2. The preparations must be wrapped in a blanket immediately after rolling, and after 24 hours they must be stored in a pantry.
3. The room temperature for storing vegetable preparations should not be higher than +15 or lower than +3 degrees.