Pumpkin is one of South Africa's favourite vegetables. Most restaurants serve pumpkin and spinach as vegetable side dishes with main meals and all mothers buy it for their families. There are many ways in which you can serve the great varieties of pumpkin available like butternut squash, herbert squash, "boer" pumpkin or red pumpkin, to mention just a few.

Not all types of pumpkin are in season and therefor available all through the year, so you have to use the one that is in season at a certain time. The most common and quickest way to prepare pumpkin is to boil it in a little bit of water, season lightly with salt and add some cinnamon. Otherwise you can mix the pumpkin with flour, salt and egg and bake "pampoenkoekies" in a little bit of oil, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

Another favourite recipe from times gone by, a truly traditional South African recipe, is "pampoenmoes". You can either bake this in the oven or boil it in a little bit of water in a saucepan. This is a recipe worth trying:

Ingredients:
8 slices of white bread
Butter
Apricot jam
2 cups of pumpkin (1 butternut squash should do. Slice very thinly)
Salt
Sugar
Cinnamon

Method:
1. Butter the bread on both sides and spread apricot jam on the side facing up. Place one layer in an oven proof glass dish, jam facing up.
2. Cut the pumpkin thinly, season lightly with salt and place on top of the bread.
3. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the pumpkin.
4. Repeat this until all the pumpkin and bread is used up, finishing with a layer of pumpkin. Dot a few extra clots of butter on the top.
5. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour in a pre-heated oven of 180C

Serve the pumpkin hot with vegetables and maybe a lovely chicken dish, maybe a pie? This is a great dish to try and impress your friends with. It is very easy to make, so try it and see what happens!

Lizel Salter

My name is Lizel and I was born in South Africa. I am VERY proud to call myself South African. I love my country and want to describe to the world how I feel about the people, food and landscapes.

This is the main reason why I wrote my traditional South African recipe book. All the recipes are recipes I grew up with, that were passed on to me by my mother and from generation to generation.

In 2004 I married the man of my dreams, a great Englishman. We are living in England at the moment, trying to visit South Africa at least once a year. I started writing articles for this article site to share what I know best.

I hope that I am successful in sharing with you a piece of my heart, part of my soul. I love South Africa, and I want you to experience it in the same way I do!