Stuffed Pumpkin

Stuffed Pumpkin feels like a treat but is super simple. It takes a little time to bake but thats most consuming part of the recipe. 

Ingredients

1 pumpkin (This is a Long Island cheese pumpkin which is the best in my opinion but any pumpkin would work)

1 sweet potato peeled and diced

1 cup of diced apple 

1/2 cup diced fennel 

1/2 pound raclette or gruyere (grated)

1 cup torn crusty bread (I used pugliese from Amelias here in Indianapolis because that was left over from dinner the other day) 

3/4 cup half and half

3 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper 

Preheat oven to 350 and start working on the pumpkin. Begin by cutting the top off the pumpkin. You want to make it big enough in diameter to easily serve from but not so big that it goes to the edge and all bubbles out. 

Scoop out all the seeds and guts and sprinkle a little of the salt (1 tsp) in the empty pumpkin. 

Peel and dice the sweet potato into larger cubes. For the fennel peel off the outer layer and then dice very small. Apple can keep its peel and dice. 

This bread was leftover from dinner earlier in the week so half of it is being used for this dish and the other half I will use to make croutons. 

Shred your cheese. Today I used Raclette di Brunson but I also have used gruyere and it is great. 

Toss all together with remaining salt, pepper, and mix in the half and half. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the bread can soak up the milk. 

Scoop into your pumpkin and smash it down leaving out the milk. There is a good chance it won't all fit so just try to smash and then get as much of the cheese in there as possible. 

You can bake it in a cast iron or in a casserole dish. I would stay away from cooking sheets because it can put off a lot of liquid. Start in the oven with the top of the pumpkin back on. 

Bake for the first hour with the top on and then cook for about one more hour with out the top so everything gets toasty on top. You will know your pumpkin is down when it is soft and browned and the top of the filling has firmed (but with soft sweet potatoes). 

Let it sit for 15 minutes and then transfer to a dish. I like to serve it in a dish that shows off the beautiful sides of the pumpkin. Serve warm and enjoy!