Have you ever cooked a pumpkin? I’ve done it a couple of times. The meat of the pumpkin is really good, plus you can roast the seeds for snacks later too. I made this 2 years ago and then never got around to posting it. It’s one of those show stopper sides you bring to Thanksgiving. It will make enough stuffing to bake in a casserole dish depending on the size pumpkin you are baking. Never the less it’s pumpkin season and time to step outside your comfort zone. Don’t just carve a pumpkin cook in it too!
Gruyere, Bacon & Green Onion Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin
(Adapted from Stone Gable)
1-3 pound pumpkin
salt and pepper
1 baguette, better if it’s day old
1/4 pound Gruyere cheese, cut into small cubes
1/4 pound Fontina cheese, cut into small cubes
6 slices bacon, crispy cooked and chopped
6 green onions, white and green part, chopped
1 TBS butter
2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely diced
1/4 cup fresh chives, snipped
1 TBS fresh thyme, pulled from stems
1/2 cup (or a little more) heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the top off of the pumpkin and scoop out the fibrous stands and seeds.
Salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin liberally.
Mix the bread, cheeses and bacon in a large bowl.
In a small pan heat butter over medium low heat and when it melts add the green onions. Cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add to the bread mixture.
Add snipped chives and thyme. Add cream and mix all the ingredients. The mixture should be wet, but not dripping. Adjust if needed.
Fill the pumpkin to the top with the stuffing. Put the lid on the pumpkin and put it in an 8×8 baker lined with NO STICK REYNOLDS WRAP.
Bake for 2 hours in the center of the oven. 30 minutes before the pumpkin is done, take off the lid to let the stuffing brown.
To serve, lift the pumpkin with the Reynolds Wrap on to a serving plate. Wiggle the Reynolds Wrap from under the pumpkin. Serve immediately.
Since there was way more stuffing that did not fit in the pumpkin I also baked it in a casserole dish. I covered it with foil for the “baking time” then removed it for the last 30 minutes.
