Apple-Pumpkin Brown Betty

Ingredients

• 1 cup bread cubed (preferably from a baguette)
• 2  gala apples peeled cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 0.3 cup golden raisins 
• 0.3 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 6 servings kosher salt 
• 0.3 cup brown sugar light packed
• 6 servings maple syrup for drizzling
• 1 tablespoon rum 
• 2 pound pumpkin 
• 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• baking pan
• aluminum foil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off and reserve the top 1 1/2 inches of the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the bread and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 4 minutes; transfer to a bowl.
4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, the apples, brown sugar and raisins to the skillet and cook until the apples are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the rum, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Return the bread to the skillet.
5. Put the pumpkin in a small baking dish and fill the pumpkin with the apple mixture. Cover with the pumpkin top and add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the pumpkin is tender, 2 hours to 2 hours, 30 minutes.
6. Remove the foil and pumpkin top and return the stuffed pumpkin to the oven.
7. Bake until the filling is lightly browned, about 10 more minutes.
8. Transfer to a serving plate and drizzle with maple syrup. To serve, scrape the pumpkin flesh and stir into the apple mixture.
9. Photograph by David Malosh