A Meal in a Pumpkin
A few weeks back we received an invite to a Halloween party and I got to thinking about something fun to bring. As much as being in my kitchen and writing these posts brings me joy, sometimes when a party invite arrives, there's some self-induced pressure to make sure my potluck contribution is special. I can't imagine the razzing (or the behind my back snickering) that would occur if I showed up somewhere with a premade tray from the supermarket or a jar of salsa and a package of chips.
Anyway, back to my party brainstorming; I decided to cook something in a pumpkin, and, that I should do a dry run rather than make it on the day of the party -- which is usually how I roll. In my mind, there are no better food experiment testers than the unknowing guests at a party . (that's how I get my thrills rather that jumping moguls).
After some research I found that baking in the pumpkin is not anything new and some of the advice I read was to be sure the pumpkin had thick walls. My first thought for filling was some kind of modified American Chop Suey (recipe coming soon) but with venison and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and barley or farro instead of the elbow pasta.
I bought 2 pie pumpkins and went to the freezer to grab a package of venison that a friend gave me. When I did, I noticed a container of pastitsio (another recipe coming soon). Pastitsio is a Mediterranean mostly Greek casserole that some refer to as Greek lasagna and is similar to a Bolognese sauce but with warm spices and eggplant. Instead of starting from scratch, I grabbed that and a package of ground bison (figuring I'd save the precious venison for the party). My plan was to saute the bison and add it to the pastitsio along with some cooked farro and lentils to round out the pumpkin filling.
For my experiment, I scraped out the 2 pumpkins and then filled each with water that I then poured into a 1/2 gallon measuring bowl to get a sense of how much filling I needed. My pumpkins were each between 3 and 4 cups in volume. I had about 3-1/2 cups of pastitsio and made up the rest of the 8 cups with equal parts of cooked farro and lentils and put the bison back in the freezer. Since there are a couple of varieties of ground meat in the pastitsio I didn't need the added meat for this small amount.
Once I scraped the seeds and fibers out of the pumpkin, and had combined the lentils, farro and pastitsio, I spooned the filling into each pumpkin and got the over heating to 350 degrees.
Pumpkin stuffing (bison was not sued after all) Celaned pumpkins ready to fill Pumpkins in the oven Baked pumpkins
I filled the pumpkins so that the filling was mounded on top and then placed the tops on before baking. I baked them on a cookie sheet for a 1/2 hour to start and then tested in15 minute intervals until the pumpkin meat was tender but not mushy. These pumpkins took about an hour in total. Obviously that will vary depending on the size and thickness of your pumpkins.
Having done these on a Saturday morning, I needed to reheat them when it was time for dinner. I did that in a Pyrex pie plate at the same 350 degrees until the filling reached 165 degrees. Getting the filling to temperature is important if you bake and store store the filled pumpkins. Not unlike a stuffed turkey.....
reheated pumpkin ready to serve Make sure to scrape some cooked pumpkin into the bowl when serving All Gone!!!!
When it's time to serve, you scrape some of the pumpkin into your bowl with the filling. It was delicious, but one note I'd make is that the pumpkin seems to absorb seasonings and what tasted well seasoned before baking was much more mild after.
What I would do different next time is increase seasonings for the filling or bake the empty pumpkin for a half hour and then fill and bake the rest of the way until the filling reaches temperature.
For the party, I"ll be bringing 2 pumpkins with fillings that are more of a dip than a meal. One will have meat and the other will be vegetarian, that's all I have decided for now so I'll still be sharing a bit of an experiment. Ah the thrill of it!
THE RECIPE
Thick walled pumpkins that will sit flat
Enough filling to fill and mound a bit on the top of the pumpkin
I think you can be creatine here, the warm spice with meat veggies and some kind of starch was great, but mac n cheese, pulled chicken or pork, queso dip, and a complimentary seasoned risotto could work.
Whether you par bake the pumpkin and add to cooked filling to heat when ready to serve, or if you're serving right after baking and you fill with cooked ingredients before baking, make sure the filling reaches 165 degrees and keep an eye that the pumpkin doesn't overcook -- especially if it's empty as it will collapse.
THOUGHT FOR FOOD:
In the interest of waste nothing, I also reserved the pumpkin seeds for roasting. After I removed as much pulp as I could by hand, I swished the seeds in a large bowl of water and removed them to paper towel to dry a bit.
I had some tajin seasoning (another experiment) in a jar, so when the seeds were dried a bit, I tossed them with some olive oil and the tajin. I baked them on a lined cookie sheet at 375 for about a half hour until they were dried and crispy. The baking time will depend on how dry they ware when you pop them in the oven. AND, the sky's the limit on the different seasonings you can use.
