Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

Popular
Health score
54%
Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good
45 min.
2
788kcal

Suggestions


Autumn brings with it an abundance of flavors, and what better way to celebrate the season than with a stunning Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good? This delightful dish is not only a feast for the eyes but also a comforting combination of savory ingredients that will leave your taste buds tingling. Perfectly baked and beautifully presented, this pumpkin side dish is sure to impress at any gathering, from cozy family dinners to festive holiday feasts.

The star of the show is, of course, the pumpkin itself, which becomes a tender, flavorful vessel for a luscious filling made from crispy bacon, hearty bread, and melty cheese. With the addition of fresh herbs and a hint of nutmeg, this dish delivers a wonderful aroma that envelops your kitchen as it bakes. Whether you're enjoying it as a main course alongside a crisp salad or serving it as a companion to your Thanksgiving turkey, this recipe promises to be a crowd-pleaser.

Boasting a healthy score of 54, the Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good is a satisfying choice that doesn't compromise on flavor. With its rich ingredients and thoughtful preparation, this dish invites creativity; feel free to experiment with different fillings, from robust sausage to vibrant vegetables. Join me in making this scrumptious recipe, and let's celebrate the comforts of home cooking together!

Ingredients

  • 0.3 pound bread stale thinly sliced cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 0.3 pound gruyere cheese such as gruyère, emmenthal, cheddar, or a combination, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • slices bacon crisp cooked drained chopped (my addition)
  • 0.3 cup chives fresh snipped sliced (my addition)
  • tablespoon thyme sprigs fresh minced (my addition)
  •  garlic clove split coarsely chopped to taste ()
  • 0.3 cup cup heavy whipping cream 
  • pinch nutmeg freshly grated
  •  pumpkin 
  • servings salt and pepper freshly ground

Equipment

  • bowl
  • baking sheet
  • oven
  • knife
  • pot
  • dutch oven

Directions

  1. 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. If you bake the pumpkin in a casserole, it will keep its shape, but it might stick to the casserole, so you'll have to serve it from the pot—which is an appealingly homey way to serve it. If you bake it on a baking sheet, you can present it freestanding, but maneuvering a heavy stuffed pumpkin with a softened shell isn't so easy. However, since I love the way the unencumbered pumpkin looks in the center of the table, I've always taken my chances with the baked-on-a-sheet method, and so far, I've been lucky.
  2. Using a very sturdy knife—and caution—cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin (think Halloween Jack-o-Lantern). It's easiest to work your knife around the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. You want to 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.
  3. 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. Again, you might have too much or too little—you don’t want the ingredients to swim in cream, but you do want them nicely moistened. (It's hard to go wrong here.)
  4. 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. Because the pumpkin will have exuded liquid, I like to remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.
  5. When the pumpkin is ready, carefully, very carefully—it's heavy, hot, and wobbly—bring it to the table or transfer it to a platter that you'll bring to the table.
  6. Serving
  7. You have a choice—you can either spoon out portions of the filling, making sure to get a generous amount of pumpkin into the spoonful, or you can dig into the pumpkin with a big spoon, pull the pumpkin meat into the filling, and then mix everything up. I'm a fan of the pull-and-mix option.
  8. Served in hearty portions followed by a salad, the pumpkin is a perfect cold-weather main course; served in generous spoonfuls, it's just right alongside the Thanksgiving turkey.
  9. Storing
  10. It's really best to eat this as soon as it's ready. However, if you’ve got leftovers, you can scoop them out of the pumpkin, mix them up, cover, and chill them; reheat them the next day.
  11. Bonne Idée
  12. There are many ways to vary this arts-and-crafts project. Instead of bread, I've filled the pumpkin with cooked rice—when it's baked, it's almost risotto-like. And, with either bread or rice, on different occasions I've added cooked spinach, kale, chard, or peas (the peas came straight from the freezer). I’ve made it without bacon (a wonderful vegetarian dish), and I’ve also made it and loved, loved, loved it with cooked sausage meat; cubes of ham are also a good idea. Nuts are a great addition, as are chunks of apple or pear or pieces of chestnut.

Nutrition Facts

Calories788kcal
Protein17.91%
Fat45.65%
Carbs36.44%

Properties

Glycemic Index
160.33
Glycemic Load
44.43
Inflammation Score
-10
Nutrition Score
49.265651765077%

Flavonoids

Apigenin
0.09mg
Luteolin
12.68mg
Isorhamnetin
0.34mg
Kaempferol
0.51mg
Myricetin
0.05mg
Quercetin
0.29mg

Nutrients percent of daily need

Calories:788.2kcal
39.41%
Fat:41.79g
64.29%
Saturated Fat:22.66g
141.65%
Carbohydrates:75.05g
25.02%
Net Carbohydrates:68.6g
24.94%
Sugar:23.64g
26.27%
Cholesterol:123.03mg
41.01%
Sodium:1154.17mg
50.18%
Alcohol:0g
100%
Alcohol %:0%
100%
Protein:36.89g
73.78%
Vitamin A:59400.77IU
1188.02%
Vitamin C:71.01mg
86.07%
Manganese:1.68mg
84.17%
Calcium:839.52mg
83.95%
Phosphorus:812.72mg
81.27%
Potassium:2605.33mg
74.44%
Vitamin B2:1.19mg
69.8%
Vitamin E:7.92mg
52.8%
Selenium:36.37µg
51.96%
Copper:1.03mg
51.42%
Vitamin B1:0.72mg
47.86%
Iron:8.53mg
47.38%
Vitamin B3:9.14mg
45.69%
Folate:171.55µg
42.89%
Zinc:5.7mg
37.99%
Magnesium:142.36mg
35.59%
Vitamin B6:0.68mg
34.01%
Vitamin B5:3.14mg
31.38%
Fiber:6.45g
25.8%
Vitamin K:23.76µg
22.63%
Vitamin B12:1.15µg
19.08%
Vitamin D:1.04µg
6.93%
Source:Epicurious