Hi there! I am Katie Curtis and I post recipes at The Humble Onion in addition to being a freelance writer. I am so honored to be posting on Kristen's blog. I love her celebration of home, beauty and family, and she is one of the most encouraging ladies in the blogosphere.
Today I am so excited to share with you this recipe for Swiss Pumpkin. I found this recipe in Ruth Reichl's food memoir Comfort Me with Apples (a sequel to Tender at the Bone). I am a big fan of food memoirs at the moment since I am writing one of my own about growing up in a big Irish family in Chicago (I am one of eight) with a family that had a huge passion for food.
I knew I had to share this recipe when I made it for my husband for a date night at home a few weeks ago. The smell when you take this out of the oven is like nothing else - a mix between pumpkin pie, creamy squash soup, and French onion soup. The fragrance will transport you. From the first bite we took, we knew this was a special dish. It warms your insides like nothing I have ever had - the pillow soft pumpkin, creamy buttery soup, and nutmeg infused bread tastes like heaven.
This dish is perfect for Holiday parties or special family winter dinners. I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year but if I was, everyone should start with a little Swiss Pumpkin on their plate.
I hope you get to taste it, and if you are looking for more healthy winter recipes feel free to visit
The Humble Onion.
Cheers, Katie
Swiss Pumpkin (Serves 4)
Ingredients
- 2 small pumpkins about 6 – 8 inches in diameter
- Sliced French bread; several pieces toasted
- Grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese about 4 oz
- Half and half about 2 cups
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 t. salt 1 t. pepper
- 1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg makes all the difference
Instructions
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First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top off of your pumpkin leaving the stem intact. With a spoon, scrape out the innards of the pumpkin and discard. (You can reserve the seeds if you like for a latter use.)
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Next, rinse the pumpkin both inside and out and pat dry. Place a layer of your toasted bread on the very bottom of the pumpkin cavity. If you need to break up your toasted bread to fit, that is fine. You just want a light layer; you do not need to pack it in. Over the top of your bread sprinkle a bit of your cheese; just enough to cover the bread. You will want to repeat this until you fill the cavity of the pumpkin to its rim, about 2-3 times.
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Then, pour the half and half mixture over the layered bread and cheese and into the pumpkin cavity. I like to do this slowly to be sure the half and half is filling in the crevices and not ready to overflow the pumpkin filling. Place the pumpkin top you cut off back onto the pumpkin and place on a baking sheet.
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Finally, place the pumpkin on the baking sheet into the center of your oven for about 2 hours. Your baking time will depend on the size of your pumpkin and how much you fill it, so I always check it after one and a half hours of baking. You want to bake it until a knife can easily pierce through the flesh of your pumpkin. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and wait about 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
**Slightly altered from Ruth Reichl’s original recipe.
I share many more delicious recipes on my blog, The humble Onion.
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Shawnna
this sounds really good!