Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffed Pumpkin
- 1 medium pumpkin - about 10 inches diameter
- 3 TBSP olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 lb. portobella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
- 2 large stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 4 cups grains (rice, couscous, bulgur, lentils, or a mixture - I use Trader Joes Harvest Blend)
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground sage
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1 cup shredded smoked cheese -provolone or gouda
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Pre-cook pumpkin: Carefully cut a circle around stem and remove top of pumpkin. Scrape out seeds and stringy pulp. Place pumpkin in casserole dish, add 1 inch of water to dish, place top back on pumpkin, and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While pumpkin is baking, prepare filling:
- Cook grains according to package directions.
- Separately, saute onions, garlic and celery in 2 TBSP olive oil until golden (do not brown).
- Add mushrooms and continue saute until most water has evaporated.
- Add walnuts, sherry, sage, thyme, cayenne and salt to taste. Saute for 1 minute.
- When grains are cooked, mix grains with onion mixture, shredded cheese, beaten egg and parsley in large bowl.
- Fill partially cooked pumpkin with the filling. Replace top. Add water if needed, to 1 inch. Bake stuffed pumpkin at 375 for 45 minutes. Any filling not used for stuffing pumpkin can be baked separately in a casserole dish for about 25 minutes.
- To serve, place pumpkin on attractive serving dish, cock top to side (to reveal stuffing), and garnish with a sprig of fresh sage.
- Scoop out filling and some of the sides of the pumpkin when serving.
- Great reheated!
pumpkin, olive oil, onion, garlic, portobella mushrooms, stalks celery, walnuts, grains, thyme, ground sage, sherry, italian parsley, gouda, cayenne pepper, egg
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/vegetarian-thanksgiving-stuffed-pumpkin-50109940 (may not work)