Baked Whole Pumpkin Food

WHOLE STUFFED ROASTED PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat; swirl to coat. Add sausages; cook 6 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove to a large plate; when cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Increase heat to medium-high; add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan. Add mushrooms; sauté 7 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to plate with sausage. Add butter and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add garlic, celery, and onion; cook 5 minutes. Add berbere and cardamom; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add stock, peas, and salt; simmer 10 minutes. Add farro, potatoes, and carrots; simmer 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• While stew mixture simmers, cut out top of pumpkin, and reserve; remove strings and seeds. Wrap pumpkin in foil; place in a large roasting pan or baking dish.
• Drain tomatoes in a colander over a bowl (reserve juices for another use). Break up tomatoes with hands, allowing juices to drain. Stir tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, and parsley into stew. Ladle stew into prepared pumpkin. Place pumpkin top next to pumpkin on the pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until pumpkin flesh is tender and easily scooped from the sides. Serve stew along with spoonfuls of pumpkin.

WHOLE PUMPKIN PIE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Make a lid on the top of the pumpkin by cutting around the stem at a 45 degree angle. Make sure the opening is large enough to work within. Remove the seeds and fibers with a metal spoon or ice cream scoop and kitchen shears. Reserve the seeds for another use. Brush the exterior of the pumpkin and the lid with vegetable oil. Oil a round casserole dish large enough to hold the pumpkin and place the pumpkin inside.
• Combine the butter, onion, salt, garlic, apples, chicken broth, and heavy cream in the hollow pumpkin. Replace the lid of the pumpkin to cover. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the lid. Add the goat cheese and thyme and bake an additional 30 minutes, uncovered. Remove the pumpkin from the oven, and gently scrape some of the flesh into the soup mixture. Puree with an immersion blender to desired consistency, being careful to avoid the sides and bottom of the pumpkin. Serve immediately.

WHOLE BAKED PUMPKIN WITH CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375⁰. Slice the top off the pumpkin ¾ of the way up the top and retain; this is your lid. Scoop out the seeds and superficial fibers from the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
• Put enough shredded Gruyere into the empty cavity of the pumpkin to fill about a third of it, then pour in the cream until the cavity is two-thirds full. Add a generous pinch of nutmeg, a bit of salt and pepper. Throw in the butter and then top with your pumpkin lid so the pumpkin is whole again.
• Cook for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours depending on the pumpkin. Test for doneness by removing the lid and poking the flesh from the inside. It should be quite tender. The skin may be slightly burnt and just beginning to sag.
• Serve whole and scoop out plenty of flesh with the creamy cheesy liquid into soup bowls.

WHOLE-GRAIN PUMPKIN SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square cake pan with parchment and coat lightly with cooking spray. Whisk together the pumpkin, buttermilk and egg yolk in a small bowl until smooth; set aside.
• Grind the oats in a food processor until they form a coarse meal. Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal. Add the cranberries and pulse once. Add the pumpkin mixture and pulse until the oat mixture is just moistened, 3 or 4 pulses. Turn the dough out of the processor bowl and gently knead until combined but not overworked.
• Gently press the dough into the prepared cake pan so it is about 7 inches across and 3/4 inch thick (it won't go all the way to the edges). Sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar. Bake until the top begins to crack and is golden and firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then tip out onto a cutting board and slice into 8 scones. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

ROASTED PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut pumpkin in half; scrape out seeds.
• Drizzle pumpkin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. (Omit pepper if using in sweet dishes.)
• Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast until very soft, about 35 to 45 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT PUMPKIN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place raisins in a bowl and pour in boiling water to cover by 1 inch. Allow to sit until raisins are plump and rehydrated, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain raisins, and reserve 1/3 cup of the soaking water in a separate bowl.
• Combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, eggs, reserved soaking water, and oil in another bowl; mix with a spoon or whisk until well combined. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in walnuts and raisins. Pour batter into a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

STUFFED PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut the top off the pumpkin or squash and use a metal spoon to scoop out the seeds. Get rid of any pithy bits but keep the seeds for another time (see our pumpkin seed recipe ideas). Put the pumpkin on a baking tray, rub with 2 tbsp of the oil inside and out, and season well. Roast in the centre of the oven for 45 mins or until tender, with the 'lid' on the side.
• Meanwhile, rinse the wild rice well and cook following pack instructions, then spread out on a baking tray to cool. Thinly slice the fennel bulb and apple, then squeeze over ½ the lemon juice to stop them discolouring.
• Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Fry the fennel seeds and chilli flakes, then, once the seeds begin to pop, stir in ½ the garlic and the fennel. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then mix through the apple, pecans and lemon zest. Remove from the heat. Add the mixture to the the cooked rice, then stir in the chopped parsley and taste for seasoning.
• Pack the mixture into the cooked pumpkin and return to the oven for 10-15 mins until everything is piping hot. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining lemon juice with the tahini, the rest of the garlic and enough water to make a dressing. Serve the pumpkin in the middle of the table, topped with pomegranate seeds and the dressing.