Ingredients
Scale
- 1 small (4- to 5-pound) pie pumpkin (a.k.a. sugar pumpkin or sugar pie pumpkin)
- olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 cups herbed stuffing mix
- 2 cups mixed cooked white rice, brown rice and/or quinoa
- 2 granny smith apples, cored and chopped
- 1 cup chopped roasted cashews
- 1 to 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- kosher salt, to taste
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the top off the pumpkin by cutting out a 5 to 6-inch circle – at an angle – around the stem. Clean stringy pieces off inside of top and set aside.
- Remove seeds and stringy pulp from inside of pumpkin; I start using a wheel pizza cutter to scrape out the big hunks, then use a grapefruit spoon for the smaller stringy pieces. Oil inside and outside of pumpkin. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or sauté pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and celery and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs, cooked rice, apples and nuts. Stir in 1 cup stock; add more as needed to moisten mixture (I usually only need 1 cup, unless preparing ahead – see note below). Season with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Spoon stuffing mixture into pumpkin and place on prepared cookie sheet. Put on pumpkin top and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until inside pumpkin flesh is tender and outside skin is nicely browned.
- When serving, scoop out some of the pumpkin with the dressing.
Notes
Make ahead: Pumpkin can be stuffed and cooked up to 24 hours in advance, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and reheat in a 325-degree oven. Put in more broth (1 1/2 to 2 cups).
- Category: Side dishes, make ahead, vegetarian
