Wow. This is quite the meal. Last fall my family and I went to a pumpkin patch (one of my favorite fall activities). We all picked out pumpkins to carve and eat. That night we made this most delicious stuffed pumpkin. Pumpkin stuffed with cheese, bacon, bread, chives and heavy cream. We had leftover cheese cubes that had been mixed with the spices, herbs and bacon. That alone was heaven on a plate. We couldn’t stop downing the extra cheese cubes – I think someone should market that as a great appetizer (no, seriously – we ate them right from the bowl). So it wasn’t too surprising that the pumpkin was also heaven on a plate. Mouthwatering delicious – I think I’ve told everyone I know about this recipe. I loved it so much the first time, I had to make it again!
Pumpkin Stuffed With
Everything Good
Ingredients
1 pumpkin, about 3 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 pound stale bread, thinly
sliced and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (I used sourdough)
1/4 pound cheese, cut into
1/2-inch chunks (I used a combination of Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese and
Kerrygold Aged Cheddar Cheese)
2–4 garlic cloves (to taste),
split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped
4 strips bacon, cooked until
crisp, drained, and chopped
About 1/4 cup snipped fresh
chives or sliced scallions
1 tablespoon minced fresh
thyme
About 1/3 cup heavy cream
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
Center a rack in the oven and
preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line
a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or find a Dutch oven
with a diameter that's just a tiny bit larger than your pumpkin.
Using a very sturdy knife cut a
cap out of the top of the pumpkin (like you’re carving a pumpkin). Cut off enough of the top to make it easy for
you to work inside the pumpkin. Clear
away the seeds and strings from the cap and from inside the pumpkin. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously
with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet or in the pot. Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and
herbs together in a bowl. Season with
pepper, you probably have enough salt from the bacon and cheese, but taste to
be sure, and pack the mix into the pumpkin. The pumpkin should be well filled — you might
have a little too much filling, or you might need to add to it. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt
and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin. Watch as you pour to achieve the right amount. The ingredients should not be swimming in
cream, but you do want them nicely moistened.
Put the cap in place and bake the
pumpkin for about 2 hours (check after
90 minutes ) or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh
of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Remove the cap during the last 20 minutes so
the liquid can bake and the top of the stuffing can brown.
When the pumpkin is ready,
carefully, very carefully, bring it to the table or transfer it to a platter
that you'll bring to the table.
Serve by spooning out portions
of the filling. Make sure to get a
generous amount of the pumpkin into each spoonful!
Makes 2 very generous servings