fresh pumpkin Archives - The Dreaming Foodie

I’ve got something to tell you.

I am OBSESSED with stuffing.

Oh my goodness do I love it.

When I tell people that I don’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving, I often get the response, “If you don’t eat turkey, then what do you eat?”

I eat stuffing. Lots and lots of stuffing.

I’m not sure when exactly this obsession started, but I’m glad it did. Stuffing makes me so happy. I even “liked” stuffing on Facebook. I’m not sure why you can do that (or how I discovered that you could), but I did. And every year around Thanksgiving, “Stuffing” begins to post on Facebook. And I secretly love it!

I think my mom makes the best stuffing. It’s very simple and very classic, but so delicious. It has the perfect flavor. And it is so moist. It doesn’t need gravy, although I put gravy on it anyway because I also love gravy.

And while I love and wouldn’t want to go without my mom’s amazing, classic stuffing, it is fun to experiment with it a bit, too. As far as I’m concerned, the more stuffing, the better. 🙂

The story behind this kale, cranberry + walnut stuffing:

When I came home from Florida last week, a beautiful pumpkin was sitting on the table waiting just for me (and flowers, too!). Greg picked out the pumpkin for me at the farmers market when I was away. He said he talked to a woman about stuffing the pumpkin, and thought that I would love the idea. He knows me too well – there is nothing I would rather do this time of the year than stuff a pumpkin with stuffing!

I bought some multigrain bread (my favorite) and then searched my fridge and pantry for the perfect add-ins for the stuffing. I love the classic flavor combo of fresh garlic, shallots, carrots and celery so I thought that would be my base. I added baby kale because I am obsessed with adding it to everything lately. To the bread, I added dried cranberries and walnuts, just because I thought it would work. I spiced it up with plenty of dried thyme, sage, nutmeg, salt, pepper and some fresh rosemary. I used fresh rosemary because I love the flavor of fresh over dried and I know that I will use the entire package when I buy it. The only binding ingredient in this stuffing is chicken broth (use veggie broth to make it completely vegetarian!). I didn’t want to add egg, so I tried just the broth and it worked perfectly as a binder.

And just a note: stuffing doesn’t have to be wildly unhealthy to be delicious! This stuffing has only 2 tablespoons of butter in the entire thing. I used multigrain bread, nuts, dried fruit and a ton of veggies. I’m not saying it’s a health food, but you don’t have to feel guilty about indulging in this!

My origianl plan was to cut the pumpkin top off, jack-o-lantern style. Just as if I were carving the pumpkin. But, this pumpkins skin was very thick and hard to cut through. I tried but decided I just couldn’t do it. I decided to cut the pumpkin in half, take the seeds out and stuff some stuffing into each side. It worked very well, and I think that anyway you can cut your pumpkin would work, too.

The flavor of this stuffing is amazing. It is everything I hoped for. The cranberries and walnuts add great texture. It is perfectly moist. Greg and I agreed that gravy is not necessary for it.

And the pumpkin presentation is fun and cool. I think that it would be a fun dish to take to a family or friend Thanksgiving get-together. And as far the the pumpkin flesh, it can be scraped out and eaten with the stuffing, or scraped out and used for another recipe. Don’t let that pumpkin go to waste!

So, what do you think? Will you stuff some stuffing into a pumpkin this season? Even if you have a traditional stuffing recipe, I encourage you to give this one a try too. It’s fun, delicious and like I said above, there can never be too much stuffing. 🙂 Enjoy!

Kale, Cranberry + Walnut Stuffing

2013-10-30 20:56:21

Write a review

Save Recipe

Ingredients

5 cups multigrain bread, cut into cubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried sage
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 small shallots, sliced
2 medium carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 ounces baby kale
2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make it vegetarian!)
1 large baking pumpkin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400*.
Prep your pumpkin. Do what seems to work best. You could cut it as if you were carving a pumpkin, or like me, cut the pumpkin in half. Clean out the pumpkin seeds.
In a large bowl, combine the cubed bread, dried cranberries, walnuts, rosemary, thyme, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a skillet over medium heat, heat the butter and olive oil. Once hot, add the minced garlic and shallots. Cook several minutes, until shallots soften.
Add the carrots and celery and cook several more minutes, until veggies begin to become tender. Once tender, add the baby kale and cook, stirring until kale is wilted.
Add the cooked veggies to the bread combo. Add the chicken broth and stir, until well combined and all bread is wet.
Stuff the stuffing into the hollow, cleaned out pumpkin. Place the pumpkin in a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1-1.5 hours, or until stuffing is cooked through and the pumpkin flesh is fork tender.

The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Hi all! How are ya?

Question for you: what is your favorite fall flavor?

Is it apple? Pear? Pumpkin? Gingerbread?

I like all that I mentioned, but I must say pumpkin is definitely a favorite. I talked about pumpkin here, with my 4-ingredient pumpkin smoothie (delicious) and here with pumpkin cupcakes.

But let’s get back to the basics. Let’s talk about the pumpkin itself. And where that pumpkin is coming from.

Now, if you are already a fresh pumpkin pro, you can skip this post. That’s all you will see here today: how to deal with fresh pumpkin.

To be honest, I had no idea how to use/cook with/bake with a fresh pumpkin exactly two years ago at this time.

It was fall 2011 and I got it in my mind that I would learn. I had been preparing my mom for weeks. We would do it on a weekend. We would find the perfect pumpkin, and we would turn it into a pie.

I remember Google-ing and searching the internet, over and over again. We planned days in advance, we wanted to be prepared.

Looking back at that now, it seems kind of silly. I wouldn’t change the experience — I remember having so much fun doing it. And I remember enjoying the end product immensely. The pie tasted so good, and knowing that my mom and I accomplished turning a pumpkin into a pie, made it even better.

But, it’s really not that complicated. I was under the impression that cooking/baking with a pumpkin was this crazy thing that could only happen on weekends/holidays. I was used to thinking that a pumpkin was only a fall decoration. I was under the impression that a pumpkin was like nothing else I had ever used in the kitchen.

But that’s just not true. If you are new to using fresh pumpkin in the kitchen, think of it this way: a pumpkin is just like any other squash you use. Butternut squash, spaghetti squash, even yellow squash. It may be covered by a thick skin, but inside, you will find the good stuff. Stuff that just needs a little cooking to come free from that skin. And once it’s cooked, it is so, so versatile.

I hope that you all are ready, because after today, I will be coming at you with some pumpkin recipes! Be prepared for both sweet and savory.

Now, yes, it is easier to just use canned pumpkin. And really, I have no problem with it. Most brands, I assume, are just pure pumpkin in a can, and nothing else. And that is just fine! But using a fresh one is fun. It’s a bit more labor intensive than opening a can, yes, but in the right situation it is way more fun!

I will never forget the time my mom and I made that pie. It was fun and it was memorable. Do you want to do something fun with your daughter or your mother or friend or anyone? If you do anything this season: make a pie from a fresh pumpkin!

Let’s talk about how it’s done.

Here’s the quick version:

-Preheat the oven
-Wash the pumpkin
-Cut the pumpkin in half, and then in half again
-Clean out the pumpkin seeds
-Brush the pumpkin with oil
-Roast the pumpkin for ~30 minutes
-Let the pumpkin slightly cool
-Remove the pumpkin skin
-Place the pumpkin in a food processor and puree away!

You’re done, that’s it. Now you have fresh, pureed pumpkin, ready to use in all of your favorite recipes!

Now, I’ll go into a little more detail, and show you some photos!

First, pick out your pumpkins. As far as I know, most grocery stores and markets should carry these little guys around this time of the year. They could be called pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins. Mine were called baby pie pumpkins! The size is really up to you. How much puree do you want. The pumpkin I used was around 3 pounds (estimate) and I got a little over one cup of puree from it.

After preheating the oven and rinsing the pumpkin, you will cut the pumpkin in half. It isn’t as hard as it sounds. It is much more difficult, in my opinion, to slice through a butternut squash. Pie pumpkins are much smaller and I think softer than big carving pumpkins we’re used to seeing. I just choose one side of the stem on top and cut straight down through the pumpkin. Use a very sharp, large butchers knife and it will go smoothly. Cut the pumpkin in half again, so that you have quarters.

Next clean out the seeds. It’s super simple, and you’re probably used to doing it from carving pumpkins. Get a spoon and scrape away until all the seeds are out! Save the seeds, if you’d like. Clean them and roast them up for a healthy snack. For a sweet taste, I’d roast them with cinnamon and for a savory I’d do rosemary!

I then lightly brushed the inside pumpkin flesh with olive oil. I thought this would help it roast better and get more tender. Place the pumpkin quarters onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, with the skin side up, like the two in the middle in the photo below.

Roast the pumpkin in the oven for about 30 minutes. It could take longer or shorter depending on your oven and the size of your pumpkin, as well as how many you are roasting. What you are looking for is a soft, slightly wrinkled skin on the pumpkin that a fork will easily pierce through. The flesh of the pumpkin should be soft as well, and possibly slightly browned.

Let the pumpkin quarters cool a bit. You technically could remove the skin right from the oven, but it will be very hot. Once you feel it has cooled enough to touch, peel the skin from the pumpkin flesh. It should come off very easily. If you are struggling to remove the skin, the pumpkin may need more time roasting.

Once you have the skin removed from the flesh, place the pumpkin into a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, I imagine that a good blender would work as well, although I have not tried that myself. Turn on the food processor and process until the pumpkin is smooth and no chunks remain.

What you’re left with is a smooth, fragrant pumpkin puree, ready to go in all of your favorite recipes. It can be used in smoothies, pies, cookies, cakes, muffins, pasta, quiche, anything! Pumpkin puree really is versatile and tastes great in both sweet and savory dishes.

This pumpkin can be used just as pumpkin puree from a can. Treat it the same. I do find that fresh pumpkin puree has a more yellow color than that from a can, but that’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed.

Making your own pumpkin puree is a fun process and I do encourage you to try it. It is not difficult or confusing, just some straight-forward roasting and pureeing!

I’d love you to leave any questions in the comments section as well as letting me know if you tried making your own puree! I hope that this post can serve as a helpful guide to you.

Now, go find a pumpkin and make some puree!