Stuffed Pumpkin – Crunchy golden topped

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4 April 2017 BY Julie Biuso
SERVES: 6-8

I love the filling for The Best Flatbreads (recipe Link below) so much that I thought I'd try it in small stuffed pumpkins. It's gorgeous! Just make sure to keep the filling on the sloppy side so there is enough juice to keep the pumpkin moist.

Ingredients

2 small buttercup pumpkins Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper 500g (about 1 pound) minced (ground) lamb 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 x 400g (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses 1 cup grated vintage cheddar ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs – the best is made with a stale sour dough loaf 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Method

1 Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Wash and dry pumpkins and prick all over with a skewer. Put pumpkins in a shallow ovenproof dish lined with baking paper and bake for 30 minutes, until a skewer can just pierce through the flesh.

Buttercup pumpkins

2 Mix minced lamb in a bowl with onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and ¾ of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over medium-high heat and when it is hot, add minced lamb in large, flattish clumps (it will be stuck together anyway). Fry until browned, without stirring, then turn pieces over.

3 Add tomatoes, then lower heat. Break up lumps of meat a little with a fork. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until tomatoes have evaporated by about three-quarters, so that the mixture is still sloppy. Stir in pomegranate molasses and turn off heat.

4 When pumpkins are ready, remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 220°C (425°F). Carefully cut around the top of the pumpkins, removing a cap. Scoop out any flesh from the pumpkin cap and add to meat mixture, mashing it in with a fork. Scoop out seeds and strings and discard (or clean and bake seeds). Season inside pumpkins with salt and pepper.

5 Fill pumpkins with lamb mixture, adding all the juices. Top with cheese. Mix crumbs and thyme, then scatter over cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and crunchy on top.

Crunchy cheese topping …. mmmm, just the ticket for autumn.

Cut into quarters for serving. Team up with a garden salad of green leaves, radicchio if you have it, radish, finely chopped celery and parsley sprigs and dress with a garlicky vinaigrette. Scrumptious!