Pumpkin food
I think I promised a pumpkin recipe, didn't I? Here's my latest discovery. This was inspired by me saying: I have a pumpkin, and I want a main course for dinner that has no gluten or cow based dairy. What can I do with it? And then going through recipes for pumpkin to see what went together and to get ideas.
Baked Pumpkin with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms
1 pie pumpkin
2 T olive oil, plus enough to brush the pumpkin with
1 shallot, diced
10 - 12 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
2 T sherry or red wine (I had red wine on hand, so that's what I used)
1/4 Tsp dried Marjoram
1/4 Tsp dried oregano
1/2 Tsp dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
6 oz hard goat cheese, grated or sliced thin for melting (I used Grumpy Goat Cheese from Nordic Creamery).
Wash the pumpkin. Half the pumpkin, and scoop out the stringy innards and seeds, reserving the seeds for baking. (Okay, you don't HAVE to reserve the seeds, they won't be used here...but if you had pumpkin seeds, why wouldn't you clean and bake them? They're so good!) Brush the pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper lightly, and place on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 10" skillet or saute pan, heat the olive oil, and saute the shallots and mushrooms in olive oil until the shallots are starting to become translucent and mushrooms are just starting to give up their juices. Add the sherry or wine, marjoram, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper, and remove from heat.
Line the interior of each pumpkin with a thin layer of the grated or sliced cheese. Cover this layer with a layer of the mushroom and shallots mix, then another layer of cheese, then mushrooms and shallots etc, until all ingredients are used and the the pumpkin is full. Finish with cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked through and ready to eat.
Yum! I served this with a big spinach salad - if you have hearty eaters, you might want more pumpkins or an additional dish. If you weren't trying to keep gluten out, it would probably be excellent with breadcrumbs on top and with a sturdy bread to accompany. I'm guessing at proportions a bit - if I had more cheese and mushrooms on hand, I would have used them, but I think this is about what I had. So treat these amounts as a minimum. Serves 2 as a main; probably 4 as a side with no leftovers.
Baked Pumpkin with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms
1 pie pumpkin
2 T olive oil, plus enough to brush the pumpkin with
1 shallot, diced
10 - 12 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
2 T sherry or red wine (I had red wine on hand, so that's what I used)
1/4 Tsp dried Marjoram
1/4 Tsp dried oregano
1/2 Tsp dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
6 oz hard goat cheese, grated or sliced thin for melting (I used Grumpy Goat Cheese from Nordic Creamery).
Wash the pumpkin. Half the pumpkin, and scoop out the stringy innards and seeds, reserving the seeds for baking. (Okay, you don't HAVE to reserve the seeds, they won't be used here...but if you had pumpkin seeds, why wouldn't you clean and bake them? They're so good!) Brush the pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper lightly, and place on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 10" skillet or saute pan, heat the olive oil, and saute the shallots and mushrooms in olive oil until the shallots are starting to become translucent and mushrooms are just starting to give up their juices. Add the sherry or wine, marjoram, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper, and remove from heat.
Line the interior of each pumpkin with a thin layer of the grated or sliced cheese. Cover this layer with a layer of the mushroom and shallots mix, then another layer of cheese, then mushrooms and shallots etc, until all ingredients are used and the the pumpkin is full. Finish with cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked through and ready to eat.
Yum! I served this with a big spinach salad - if you have hearty eaters, you might want more pumpkins or an additional dish. If you weren't trying to keep gluten out, it would probably be excellent with breadcrumbs on top and with a sturdy bread to accompany. I'm guessing at proportions a bit - if I had more cheese and mushrooms on hand, I would have used them, but I think this is about what I had. So treat these amounts as a minimum. Serves 2 as a main; probably 4 as a side with no leftovers.