A Fall Favorite - Stuffed Roasted Pumpkins

Sunday, October 1st. Rainy, lazy day. Perfect time for Stuffed Pumpkins. Nothing says Fall like pumpkins and putting in a little extra time making a hearty dinner. The first thing that came to mind when I woke up and saw the dismal weather outside were these Stuffed Roasted Sugar Pumpkins that I made one day for Cards Night last year. The filling is absolutely delicious and scraping the roasted pumpkin insides into the rice mixture is a real treat. And as you can see by the photo, it's also lovely to look at. You can also make this in one big pumpkin instead of several small ones but remember to cook the pumpkin at least another 15 - 20 minutes longer to ensure it's cooked all the way through. This is a nice idea for Thanksgiving - bring it to your host or have it right at home. The mixture can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Stuffed Roasted Sugar Pumpkins Recipe
This recipe is a combination of two recipes in a really nice cookbook, "Pumpkin, Butternut & Squash" by Elsa Petersen-Schepelern (available on Amazon.com).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:
• 4 small sugar pumpkins
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• Leaves from 3 - 4 sprigs of thyme
• 2 cups ground beef or pork
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 red chile, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup cooked white rice
• Leaves from 1 large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

How To:

Prepping the Pumpkins
1. Use a very small knife to cut the top off the pumpkin. I use a tiny pumpkin carving knife I bought at the drug store. Really does the trick!
2. Scoop out the seeds. An ice cream scoop does a great job or get down and dirty and stick your hand right in there!
3. Rub the outside and the inside with a little olive oil.

Fixin' the Filling
1. Par-boil the carrots in boiling salted water until almost cooked (4 - 5 minutes). Drain and set aside.
2. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick skillet or cast iron pan. Add the bacon. Cook until crisp. Drain on paper towels.
3. Add the onions to the skillet and sauté until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until the onion is golden. Add the thyme and the beef (or pork) and cook until meat is browned. Stir in the tomato paste and chiles. Add the carrots, bacon and rice and sauté until well combined.
4. Mix in the parsley then spoon the mixture into the pumpkins.
5. Place the pumpkins on a cookie sheet, tip the top of the pumpkin to the side and pop in the oven.
6. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes (varies by pumpkin size). If you can insert a toothpick or knife into the base of the pumpkin easily, the pumpkin is done.