Winter Pumpkin
per kilogram
Description
Winter pumpkins are a delicious addition to your cold season meal. Choose red or green compact versions of this special cultivar to cook Heaven-and-Earth Tempura Cakes or Pumpkin Puree with Ginger. Its distinctive bottom with a circular ridge, though, gives it away. On some, the ridge may surround a more pronounced bump, or "turban." A freshly cut buttercup may smell like a clean, fragrant cucumber, but once cooked, its orange flesh becomes dense, a bit dry, and very mild.
Special Recipe
Directions
Baked Mini Pumpkin Pots
4 mini pumpkins (about 1 pound each)
4 ounces sweet or hot bulk sausage
5 eggs
4 pieces stale bread (any nonsweet kind), cut into cubes
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 teaspoons crème fraîche (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the top quarter off each pumpkin and remove the seeds and stringy bits.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the sausage for 3 to 4 minutes, until cooked through. Drain off any rendered fat and set aside.
- Whisk 1 of the eggs, and toss it in a large bowl with the sausage, bread cubes, sage, parsley, salt, and pepper until well combined.
- Fill each pumpkin with the stuffing mixture to a little less than 1 inch from the top, and place it on the prepared sheet. Bake for 40 minutes, until the pumpkins have soft- ened. Remove the pan from the oven and use a spoon to compress the stuffing a little. Pour 1 of the remaining 4 eggs into each pumpkin. Lightly cover the pumpkins with a sheet of aluminum foil. Increase the heat to 400 degrees F and return the sheet to the oven. Bake for another 10 minutes, until the eggs are just set.
- Serve hot, topped with about a teaspoon of crème fraîche and more salt and pepper to taste.
