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Makes
one 3-lb sugar pumpkin
Author Notes
This is a fun recipe using sugar pumpkin all packaged up and then baked into a delicious, spicy, autumn presentation. I first got this idea from a 1980 something Yankee magazine, since then I’ve seen many variations.
It’s very easy and so versatile, just hollow out a pumpkin and fill it with your favorite stuffing. My next pumpkin adventure will be to stuff with pumpkin cheesecake flavors and serve it for dessert.
Note: sugar and pie pumpkins are the same thing; you don’t want to use a jack-o-lantern pumpkin.
—lapadia
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Ingredients
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1 sugar pumpkin, about 3 pounds
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1 cube room temperature salted butter on hand, won’t use it all
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2-1/4 cups stale baguette, torn into 1/2-inch chunks
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1-1/4 cup cheese, combo of Gruyere or Jarlsberg & Pepper Jack, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
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1/2 cup black forest ham, diced into small cubes
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1 medium granny smith apple, diced into small cubes
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2 small diced Jalapeno, seeds included
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1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
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2–4 garlic cloves (to taste), coarsely chopped
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6 tablespoons heavy cream
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Salt to taste and freshly ground pepper
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F.
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Cut off the top of the pumpkin, creating a lid about 4 inches in diameter, de-seed it. Set aside until needed.
Scoop the seeds and strings out of the pumpkin.
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Rub the cut side of the lid and the inside of the pumpkin with the 1 tablespoon room-temperature butter. Place the pumpkin, cut side up, in a deep baking dish or pan that you can bring to the table. Set aside.
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In a large bowl combine the baguette, cheese and ham. Set aside until needed.
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In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the apple, jalapeno, onion and garlic, stir until soft, about 8 minutes. Fold into the bread mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Stuff the pumpkin until it is just about filled; then pour cream, one tablespoon at a time, to within 1 inch of the rim; enough to moisten the filling. Fit the lid onto the pumpkin.
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Bake until the pumpkin begins to soften and brown on the outside and the stock bubbles on the inside, 1½ to 2 hours.
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To serve, use a spoon to carefully scrape the walls of the pumpkin to remove some tender pumpkin flesh with each serving of stuffing; it’s up to you, you could eat the skin too, just cut the pumpkin into slices to serve…I’ve not tried that.
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Best served as soon as it’s ready. If you have leftovers, cut the pumpkin into slices, cover, chill and reheat the next day.
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