Stuffed and Baked Pumpkin with Sausage and Sage Risotto

One of the first things that my husband always says when he first walks in the door is Hi Honey! what’s for dinner? Today he said basically the same thing but added what is that wonderful smell coming for the oven. It’s been a while since I baked anything for dinner, it’s still in the seventies here in Arizona and it is November. Anyway, talk about putting a smile on my face.

This stuffed pumpkin is a remake of a recipe that I made about the same time last year. It’s the kind of recipe that the ingredients can be substituted for another and it will taste different every time. For example last time I used pasta, this time I made risotto. The only thing that remains the same is the pumpkin, but that could also vary depending on the size. This time I prepared the risotto first, hollowed out the pumpkin, stuffed the pumpkin and then baked it a little over an hour.

This recipe has been inspired by "Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese" by Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord.

Ingredients:

1 3-pound pumpkin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 pound bulk sausage
1 teaspoon fresh sage (chopped)
12 ounces Arborio rice
4 to 4 1/2 cups chicken stock (heated)
4 ounces dry white wine
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut the top off the pumpkin, at a 45-degree angle. What you want is a round lid that you will replace after stuffing to bake in the oven. Scoop out seeds and strings. Generously salt inside of pumpkin, place in a rimmed baking dish. Set aside.

In a medium-sized heavy pot, add olive oil and onion, saute until soft, then add garlic and cook stirring constantly 1 to 2 minutes. Add sausage and sage and then break up the meat into small pieces, cook until browned. Add rice and stir until well coated. Next add the wine and cook until evaporated. Stir in one cup of the heated stock and simmer gently, stirring constantly. When the stock has been absorbed add another cup of stock, keep this up for at about 20 minutes.

*To check and see if risotto is done remove a few grains from pot and set on a cutting board, push down with thumb to smash grains, rice is done when grain smashes completely*

Stir in the cream and cheese. Taste; add salt and pepper if needed.

Stuff pumpkin, make sure it's filled to the top. You should have extra risotto, set aside for later. Put the cap in place and bake for about an hour. Remove the cap of the pumpkin the last 15 minutes or so. This dish is done when the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Cut into sections, then scoop out risotto, scraping the sides. Delicious served along-side a nice green salad.

*To store: cut up remaining pumpkin after removing the skin and mix in with the extra risotto*

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