Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Whole Pumpkins Stuffed With Wild Rice
Have you seen those little sugar pumpkins for sale at the market? Yum. They are inexpensive (it being autumn now...can you feel it in the air) and (what do I always say?) simple to prepare! Try this and enjoy!
5 small sugar pumpkins
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chicken stock
4 cups cooked brown and wild rice
4 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chiffonade
½ cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese
2 eggs beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Four of the pumpkins should treated as normal remove the top and the seeds, cut the stringy stuff (very technical term there, beware) from the top and make sure it fits back on as a lid.
The fifth pumpkin should be peeled, deseeded and chopped into small pieces.
Heat the oil and the butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the onion then garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the pumpkin and stock and cook for another 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the rest of the ingredients.
Loosely fill the pumpkins with the filling and replace the lids. Place the pumpkins in a large roasting pan and add 1 cup of water to the pan, (should come up about ½ inch). Roast in the oven until the pumpkins can be pierced with a knife. Should take about 1 hour.
When cooked, remove the roasting pan carefully from the oven, and take out the pumpkins. Allow to cool for a few minutes then serve.
Serves four as a main course.
Additions: Chopped roast chicken, toasted pecans, cranberries, minced rosemary. You can also just forgo the presentation and mix all that up for a casserole.
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Pumpkins are fruit that originated in Central America.
In the United States 97% of the pumpkins grown are used for Halloween decorations.
The "pumpkin capital" of the world is Morton, Illinois, home of the Libby corporation.
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