Rio Grande Pueblo peoples traditionally served a variant of this sweetbread to parties of nut-pickers in September when piñon nuts were being picked from the mountain slope trees. Families would (and some still do) camp for many weeks in traditional areas reserved to clans. In the recipe you can use either cooking-type pumpkin (these have necks and thick, meaty bodies, not like jack o' lantern pumpkins) or a sweet bright orange squash, like butternut.
Pueblo Pumpkin/Squash Piñon Nut Sweetbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 cup finely mashed or pureed pumpkin/squash
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
- 2 eggs beaten foamy
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup pine nuts
Directions
Rio Grande Pueblo peoples traditionally served a variant of this sweetbread to parties of nut-pickers in September when piñon nuts were being picked from the mountain slope trees. Families would (and some still do) camp for many weeks in traditional areas reserved to clans. In the recipe you can use either cooking-type pumpkin (these have necks and thick, meaty bodies, not like jack o' lantern pumpkins) or a sweet bright orange squash, like butternut.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, spices.
- Stir in pumpkin, eggs, butter.
- Stir pine nuts into thick batter.
- Scrape into a greased 6 x 9 loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until knife inserted in bread comes out clean.