Stuffed Pumpkin

We’re approaching the end of pumpkin season, so I’ll be posting my very best pumpkin recipes this week and next week. Luckily, pumpkins keep well for a couple months (and my pumpkin puree will keep good for 6 months or more when frozen) which means after you buy up those last pumpkins, you’ll have ample time to cook these delicious recipes!

This recipe manages to be both simple and impressive. Placing a whole cooked pumpkin in the center of the table is sure to elicit compliments from your dinner companions, and the combination of cooked pumpkin flesh with bread, cheese, bacon, spinach, and apple is perfect for fall. This stuffed pumpkin would make a great Thanksgiving side but can also serve as a complete meal. Feel free to get creative when choosing what to stuff your pumpkin with; cooked rice or another grain can be used in place of bread, you can use whatever cheese you have on hand, and nearly any of the ingredients can be omitted or replaced and still result in a delicious dish. You can even cut a butternut squash in half and stuff the halves if you can’t get your hands on a pumpkin.

Stuffed Pumpkin (adapted from Dorie Greenspan)
Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium (5 – 6 lb) pumpkin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 baguette, torn into pieces and left to sit out overnight
• 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2″ chunks*
• 1 large apple, diced
• 1/2 lb spinach, torn into pieces
• 7 – 8 cloves garlic**
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled***
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

*I used a cranberry cheddar which worked fantastically with the flavors here. But you can be flexible with the cheese here; feel free to use gouda, gruyere, or a mix of cheeses.
**You can use whole cloves or mince them.
***And if you want to toss the bread pieces in the bacon fat, I won’t tell anyone.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cutting at a 45-degree angle, carefully remove the cap of 1 medium (5 – 6 lb) pumpkin, then scrape out the seeds and strings. Season the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine 1 baguette, torn into pieces and left to sit out overnight, 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2″ chunks, 1 large apple, diced, 1/2 lb spinach, torn into pieces, 7 – 8 cloves garlic, and 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled. Toss thoroughly to evenly distribute everything, then pack the stuffing into the pumpkin.
4. Mix together 1/2 cup cream, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper, then pour into the pumpkin over the stuffing. You want the mixture to be lightly moistened; you may not need all of the cream.
5. Put the pumpkin cap back on, and place on a baking sheet or in a large oven-safe pot. Bake until the stuffing is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin can be easily pierced with a fork, about 2 hours. You may want to remove the pumpkin cap for the last 20 – 30 minutes so that the top of the stuffing can brown.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool. To serve, either cut the pumpkin into wedges or scrape out the pumpkin flesh as you scoop out the stuffing, mixing it together.