One of our members posted a picture of a stuffed pumpkin on our Facebook page, which inspired this post. The stuffed pumpkin is a great dish: it is a nice centerpiece, it is relatively easy to prepare, and it is nutritious as fresh pumpkin is a great source of vitamin A and other nutrients. This recipe will work for big or small pumpkins–I have made it twice, once with an eight pound pumpkin, and this time with a three pound pumpkin. You can also vary the filling based on what you have and adjust for taste and size of the pumpkin. This recipe calls for pork sausage, which is available through Fair Ridge Farms–fresh, local pork sausage from a small Amish farm. To make a great vegetarian (and vegan) main dish, omit sausage.
Stuffed Pumpkin (for 3-4 pound pumpkin, double for a larger one)
1 pumpkin
1 c. cooked rice, quinoa, wild rice, or other grain
1 onion, chopped
1-2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 lb. pork sausage (or omit. A good substitution would be mushrooms)
Handful chopped turnip greens
Handful chopped cabbage
Thyme, sage, salt, and pepper to taste
olive oil
optional: 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To prepare pumpkin, cut top off and scoop out seeds. Coat inside of pumpkin and inside of top with olive oil. Set aside. To prepare filling, cook sausage in a large pan on medium-medium high heat. Remove from pan and set aside. Add olive oil and saute onion and celery, adding salt and pepper to taste. After about five minutes, add greens and cabbage and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add thyme, sage, and cranberries. Stir. Add grains. Stir. Remove from heat. Stuff pumpkin with filling and place the lid back on. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the pumpkin is soft to the touch. Enjoy!
Members, we love recipes! To contribute to the food blog, please email your recipe and photo to megan@fairridgefarms.com
