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Serves
6-8 as an appetizer
Author Notes
Hollow out a pumpkin, stuff it with bread, cheese, cream, and honey, and roast it until the pumpkin is soft and scoopable and the filling is hot and bubbly. Adapted from Gourmet and Dorie Greenspan. —Joy Huang | The Cooking of Joy
Test Kitchen Notes
This was delicious and so easy to make. I tried to convince myself it was moderately good for me—in spite of the cup of cream, 6 ounces of cheese, and the bread I was slathering it all on—because it was inside a squash! A vegetable! It was too early in the season for my grocery store to stock eating pumpkins, so I used a golden nugget squash instead. I’m sure many cooks will be happy to know it worked perfectly with the squash. It didn’t take long before I eliminated the toast intermediary and was scooping squash, cheese, and cream-soaked bread cubes directly into my mouth. Who needs a middleman? I’m planning on using the leftovers as filling for grilled cheese sandwiches. —Cate
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Ingredients
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1
sugar pumpkin, about 3 1/2 pounds
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1
baguette
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3 ounces
Emmental cheese, coarsely grated
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3 ounces
Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated
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1 cup
heavy cream
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1
large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black, to taste pepper
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Honey, to taste
Directions
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Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third.
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Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch slices. Cut half of them into 1/2 inch cubes.
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Toast the baguette slices and cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
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Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle around the stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired). Season the inside with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a drizzle of honey.
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Whisk together cream, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.
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Put a layer of toasted bread cubes in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1/2 cup cheese and about 1/3 cup cream mixture. Drizzle some more honey on top of the cheese and cream. Continue layering bread, cheese, cream mixture, and honey until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top. (You may have some leftover bread, cheese, and cream left over.)
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Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake 1 hour and then remove the top.
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Return the rest of the pumpkin to the oven and bake until the top of the cheese is browned and bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with the rest of the baguette slices.
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