except i used a squash. a squash that masquerades as a pumpkin.

so really, you would never know that this wasn’t an actual pumpkin. unless i told you, which i am. and i think that even by tasting, you’d still never know. because this squash was fleshy, dry, sweet and well, deliciously pumpkiny – and not to confuse things but it was even sweet potatoey.

i used what i’m pretty sure is known as an ‘ambercup’ squash, along with 2 smaller ‘kabochas’ that i had bought 2 weeks ago. as it turns out, ambercups and kabochas are related, both being part of the squash family called the "buttercup". personally, i am from the greenbaum family line and also have many cousins, but i’m not sure if we taste alike nor do i want to find out. quite frankly many of our cousinly characteristics are so vastly different – and on too many levels to even begin to mention, that i would highly doubt it. except that we are all jewish – and beyond that i’m not even really sure what parallel is being drawn here… except that maybe jews taste alike. and from there i’d have to surmise, being the quasi food knowledgeable person that i am, that this would highly depend on what the individual jew was eating. whereas most squash tend to eat the same things as in water and daylight. 

have i lost you yet?

so yesterday i was on the nytimes dining site looking for bittman’s whole wheat super speedy no-knead bread recipe and somehow i came across a link to a slew of pumpkin recipes, which took me to a list of archived recipes, which with one click took me here. i really liked the sound of this dish but what cemented the deal was the date. because i realized that when this recipe was first published almost 4 years ago to the day, americans were being asked to choose their next president. and the talking heads were talking, and the commercials were in full swing and the politicians were hitting us with everything they had and well, you needed a roasted stuffed pumpkin just to cheer you the hell up. that and a few glasses of vino.

i took major liberties with this recipe, using what i had in the house. the recipe called for one 7 lb. pumpkin, basmati rice, dried cranberries, saffron, orange zest and vegetable stock. i used 3 squash (the one pictured plus 2 smaller kabochas), white long grain rice, currants, dried apricots and a zip-lock bag from my freezer whose contents had started off as a vegetable stock and finished as the strainings from my last risotto which had gotten a bit too soupy on me. so this broth/stock had a lot of tomato/parmigiano flavor happening all on its own – but i took a chance, and really it worked out better than i’d hoped.

roasted stuffed pumpkin
heavily adapted from the ny times food section – october 27, 2004

note: after further research i am pretty sure that this is from a nigella lawson article/recipe as the dates match up….

7 lb sugar pumpkin or assorted squash
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c cup currants
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
2 cups white rice
4 cups stock of choice
salt

heat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a kettle with water, and bring to a boil. about an inch below the top of the pumpkin’s "shoulders," about where it would be cut to carve a jack-o’-lantern, slice a lid from top of pumpkin, and set it aside. remove seeds and fibrous flesh from inside.

in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the oil, and sauté the onion until it is softened. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, and sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in the dried fruit, ginger and allspice. add the rice, and stir until it is glossy. pour in stock, and bring to a boil. cover, and reduce heat as low as possible. cook for 15 minutes. meanwhile rub the inside of pumpkin with some salt .

when rice has cooked for 15 minutes, it will be damp and not very fluffy. adjust seasoning to taste, and spoon into pumpkin cavity. press lid firmly on top. It may sit above the stuffing a bit like a jaunty cork. wrap bottom three inches of pumpkin in a double layer of foil to protect it from contact with water during baking. place in a roasting pan, and add about 1 inch of boiling water to pan.

bake the pumpkin until it is tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 1/2 hours. (If there is resistance when pumpkin is pierced, allow more baking time.) to serve, remove pumpkin from pan, and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes. discard foil, and place pumpkin on a serving platter.

a jaunty cork. gotta love that.

you can then cut it into wedges as one would do with a cake. it holds together beautifully. all in all it was a big hit around here. last night i was feeding vegetarians as well as those that chose to embellish their stuffed squash with some leftover pulled pork. illustrating how you can serve it as a side or as a main. it goes with just about anything and would make a great leftover lunch – i’m thinking with a poached egg on top because that is my automatic culinary embellishment…

and the recipe? it’s just a loose reference…