Ayote en Miel (Pumpkin in Syrup)

El Salvador, and other Central American countries, typically make Ayote en Miel as a dessert to celebrate the holiday Día de los Fieles Difuntos. However, I grew up in a Pentecostal household and, unfortunately, didn’t partake in this “devil-worshipping” holiday, which prevented me from enjoying this pumpkin steeped in an equally “devilish” flavored syrup. The way that I found out about this dish was through a friend in high school (who also attended a Pentecostal church) and I immediately became enamored with the dish. Although, it wasn’t until a couple years later that I would actually get around to making it.

One of my favorite parts about this dish lies in its malleability, both in terms of the dish’s dialectal and ingredient variation. With regard to dialectal variation, the Spanish term for ‘pumpkin’ can vary from country to country. For example: Salvadorans, on the one hand, might refer to pumpkin as ‘ayote’, and Mexicans, on the other, may refer to it as ‘calabaza.’ This characteristic of language–of being able to refer to the same thing in more ways than one–is mirrored in the regional differences that occur and exist amongst food, and this recipe is not exempt. Depending on your preferences, you may add more cinnamon, entirely omit the cloves, or add nutmeg to the recipe. Some people, for instance, include orange peel in the syrup as well. This recipe serves as a general guide for the spices you can include, and, as with most things in life, the only limit is your imagination.

No matter what term you use to refer to pumpkin or the spices you choose for this dish, it will evoke the flavors of Fall, the nostalgia of crisp air, and the presence of demonic apparitions.

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Ayote en Miel (Pumpkin in Syrup)

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Pumpkin, Syrup

Author: Shawn

Ingredients

• 6 lb castilla pumpkin
• 18 oz atado de dulce also known as panela or piloncillo
• 1 ” ginger knob cut into ¼” slices
• 3 ” cinnamon stick
• 9 whole cloves
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 4 cardamom pods smashed
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp dark rum optional
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Instructions

• Wash, deseed, peel, and cut a castilla pumpkin into large, 4” chunks. Set aside.
• Place the atado de dulce into a large ziplock bag and seal the bag almost all the way but leave a small, ¼” opening at the end. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, or any other blunt object, smash the atado into smaller, 2” pieces.
• To a large dutch oven, or any other heavy bottom pot, add the pumpkin, the atado pieces, spices, including the vanilla extract and rum, and salt.
• Over low heat, bring the pumpkin to a gentle simmer and stir frequently as the atado begins to dissolve.
• Maintain the mixture at a gentle simmer, stirring every 10-15 minutes to avoid burning. Simmer the pumpkin for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until very soft. This can be served right away but the pumpkin tastes best when it has steeped in the sugar and spices overnight.

To serve:

• Warm the pumpkin mixture and to a serving bowl, add a couple of pieces of the pumpkin along with a few spoonfuls of the syrup. Top with a splash of heavy cream or a dollop of mascarpone, whipped cream, crème fraîche, or vanilla ice cream. Finish with toasted pepita seeds if you have them on hand and grate a bit of orange or clementine zest over the top.

Enjoy! <3