Fall Baking: Savory Stuffed Pumpkin!

This sugar pumpkin is stuffed with everything good and is about to be roasted!

For our second fall baking post, we wanted to share a recipe that has enchanted us to the most infinite degree… a stuffed pumpkin baked with a savory filling that, as recipe name suggests… has truly everything good.  What we love about this recipe is its adaptability; meat-eaters and vegetarians can unite with this recipe because at it’s heart it is totally created by the master, yourself, in the kitchen.  We came across this recipe from Dorie Greenspan, in her book Around my French Table.   Follow the recipe and watch as your guests are stunned, awakened, and mesmerized by the wedge of harmony that is presented on their plate.  If you follow the recipe to the letter (as we did) you will find that this dish is a juggernaut of flavor, texture and aroma that cannot be denied.  Even better?  It reheats superbly and (as with many dishes) may even taste better the next day. Planning to attend our “Thursdays in the Kitchen: Thanksgiving Spectacular” cooking class this week , October 24th, at the Fullerton Arboretum? This Stuffed Pumpkin recipe is on the menu and will be taught in the class! (Haven’t registered for class yet? There are still a FEW seats left. Book your seat here.)

Want to get creative?  Watch this video of Dorie Greenspan preparing the dish with Martha Stewart a few years ago; it’s very inspiring.  Don’t eat meat?  Try blue cheese and apples. Or veggie sausage.  How about nuts and dried fruit?  Wild mushrooms?  Go for it! And report back with your findings!

We talked with our partner Alicia Hitchcock of Alicia’s Cookery in Brea.  She’s planning to bake a sweet bread pudding in her pumpkin.  The sky’s truly the limit with this recipe, so get your creative juices flowing!  Everyone we’ve served this roasted pumpkin to has had nothing but the best to say for it – so go forth, creativity in hand, and stuff your favorite ingredients into the next sugar pumpkin you find.  Indulge in the fantasy that is the roasted pumpkin, stuffed with “everything good!”

The recipe is detailed below… and while you can use other types of pumpkin and squash as your roasting vessel, we highly recommend sugar pumpkins. Luckily, these tender little gourds are plentiful and cheap this time of year (about two dollars as most local markets!). And don’t forget to browse our gallery that depicts the process of prepping and roasting one of these beauties!

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

(Download an easy-to-print copy of the recipe here.)

Makes 4-6 Servings

A marvelous and simple recipe that celebrates the pumpkin in all of its fall glory.  Feel free to adapt this versatile recipe to your taste.  Use blue cheese with apples, sausage in place of bacon, walnuts or pecans, dried fruit even.  Whichever combination of thoughtful ingredients you choose, this recipe is sure to provide your next fall gathering with intrigue and anticipation.  This recipe is adapted from Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan.

Ingredients

1 (3-pound) pumpkin

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 pound stale bread, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 pound Gruyere, Emmenthal, or cheddar cheese (or a mix of all three), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 to 3 cloves garlic, split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped

4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or sliced scallions

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1/2 cup heavy cream

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or use a Dutch oven that is slightly larger in diameter than your pumpkin (in which case, you will need to serve your pumpkin from the Dutch oven, as it may stick, but it will keep its shape better this way).

Using a sharp, sturdy knife, cut off top of pumpkin, working around the top with the knife inserted at a 45-degree angle to cut off enough to make it easy to work inside the pumpkin; reserve top. Remove seeds and strings from cap and pumpkin. Season inside of pumpkin generously with salt and pepper. Place on prepared baking sheet or in Dutch oven; set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, chives, and thyme until well combined. Pack into pumpkin; it should be well filled but not overstuffed. You may need to add some bread and cheese or some of the filling may not be necessary to use. In a small bowl, stir cream and nutmeg to combine. Pour over filling; filling should be moist but not swimming in cream — you may need to use more or less accordingly.

Place top on pumpkin and transfer to oven; cook until filling is bubbling and pumpkin flesh is tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove top and continue baking until liquid is slightly evaporated and top of filling is browned, 20 to 30 minutes more.

Carefully transfer pumpkin to a serving platter (or serve in Dutch oven, if using) and serve.

Stuffed Pumpkin Gallery (click on images to to view larger size)

Start with a sugar pumpkin weighing about three pounds. Remove the top, and clean the pumpkin of seeds and strings.

Cube or chop your cheese, bread, herbs and spices. Cook up your bacon or sausage. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour about a hlaf cup of heavy cream, prepped with a pinch of nutmeg, slowly into the stuffed pumpkin, allowing the cream to soak into the bread cubes.

We used sausage in this pumpkin, which we crumbled and cooked first, before adding to the stuffing mixture. Bacon is equally delicious!

Place the top back on your pumpkin and place on a studry baking sheet or pan. Place in a oven set to 350, and back for about 1 hour.

After an hour of baking, remove the top of yur pumpkin and return the uncapped pumpkin to the oven for about 30 more minutes. This will allow the ingredients on top to brown and bubble.

Remove pumpkin from oven. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes and then slice into quarters!

Plate each wedge and sprinkle with chopped chives! Voila!

This dish is at once easy, seasonal and stunning. If you try it out, please let us know!

Good eating!

-Jonathan Dye