Roasted Pumpkin Stuffed With Sausage, Apples and Gruyére

Adapted from Seriouseats.com

Makes 10-12 servings

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

1 sugar pumpkin, 6-7 pounds

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casing removed and browned (it needs to be fully cooked)

1/2 loaf stale Italian bread cut into chunks

1/2 lb. alpine-style cheese, such as Gruyère, Emmental, or Comté, grated

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/4 c. pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 c. golden raisins or craisins

1/2 c. walnut halves

2 firm apples, such as Gala or Fuji, cored and cut into 1” chunks (peeling is optional. I generally don’t.)

2. tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped

1/3 c. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

Salt & black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Make sure the rack is centered.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can use a pot or dutch oven if needed, just make sure it’s a little bit larger than the pumpkin so it doesn’t stick to the sides.

3. Cut the top of the pumpkin off to create a lid. Make it wide enough so it’s easy to get inside to clean it out. Remove the stringy interior and pumpkin seeds (saving them to roast, of course). Use a paper towel to dry the insides out. Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper all over the inside, and put it on the baking sheet.

4. In a large bowl combine the sausage, bread, cheese, shallots, pepitas, raisins, walnuts, apples, and thyme. Gently toss to combine.

5. Pack the pumpkin with the mixture. Don’t cram it in, but pack it well. (You may have some filling left over.)

6. Mix the nutmeg, salt and pepper into the cream and pour over the stuffing in the pumpkin. Depending on the stuffing mixture, you might need a little more cream (or have a little too much). The goal is for everything to be moist but not soupy.

7. Replace the pumpkin top and put the sheet tray into the heated oven.

8. After an hour, take the top off to check the interior. You’re looking for it to be hot and bubbly, and for the skin of the pumpkin to be easily pierced by a knife. If it needs more time, replace the lid and continue baking for the remaining 30 minutes.

9. CAREFULLY remove the sheet tray from the oven. The pumpkin will be wobbly and really, really hot. You can either serve the pumpkin on the sheet tray or transfer it to a serving platter. If you do move it, take extra care because it will be extremely soft.

Note: if you like a browned stuffing, remove the top of the pumpkin for the last 20 minutes of baking or so. For serving, I like to use a spoon to scoop down the interior of the pumpkin so some of the flesh is mixed with the stuffing with each spoonful.

This is best served hot, but you can scoop out whatever is left and put it in a Tupperware container to keep in the fridge. Simply reheat it when you like. (I usually add a little more cream when reheating.)