Harry Potter's Homemade Pumpkin Juice

By Kathy_Hester

There’s more to pumpkin juice than just juicing a pumpkin. My version simmers spices, fresh ginger and vanilla bean with apple juice to infuse it. Then it’s blended with soaked dried apricots, pumpkin puree and a little nutmeg. Then you strain it and you get about 3 cups of homemade Pumpkin Juice.

Ingredients

• 10 dried apricots
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 7 allspice berries
• 2 - 2 inch pieces of thinly sliced ginger
• 1/2 vanilla bean , split (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

Step 1

Soak the apricots in the water for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.

Add the apple juice, cinnamon stick, allspice, ginger and vanilla bean to a saucepan. Bring almost to boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off heat and let it cool a bit.

Add the apricots and the soaking water to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and nutmeg and blend again.

Strain the apple juice mixture into the blender to make sure only the liquid comes through. Blend until smooth.

Put a fine mesh strainer over a pitcher and strain the pulp so that only the thick juice is in the pitcher.

Save the pulp and make pumpkin juice slow cooker oats the next day!!