Autumn time = pumpkin time, right?

Aren’t pumpkins just amazing? How they come in all kind of shapes and sizes and in the most beautiful, BEAUTIFUL colours… Don’t they just act like a motivation-therapist, giving you a visual pep talk, when you leave for a challenging day at work, looking at them as they sit there, radiantly decorating the front door? I was always a big fan of their looks. But it was only a few years ago, when I first ate some. Crazy, right? How could I possibly miss out on that delicate taste for most of my life?!?! Well, pumpkins just never made an appearance in my mum’s or my granny’s kitchen. There you see how much you can influence what your children eat, just by the range of different foods that you offer to them.
Luckily, I enjoy experimenting with new ingredients in my kitchen and so the pumpkin was climbing the career ladder from decorating item to star of the dinner ;–)

Right on time, at the beginning of October, a lot of little pumpkin stands mushroom around here. And that’s great! Looking forward to it each year. Whenever I pass one of those places, I feel like I have to stop and visit the party. I mean, isn’t it like a big party of Autumn-colours? These pumpkins seem so vibrant and full of positive, defiant energy, screaming: “I don’t care that it’s getting cold and wet and horrible outside now! I am a BRIGHT ORANGE PUMPKIN and I WILL keep dancing, hah!”
That is what you want in your warming, comfy-soup on a frosty, grey Autumn-day.
So… next thing I knew, I was stopping at one of these stalls and joined the party. Walking past those huge, heavy Halloween-kind-of-pumpkins that seemed to work as doormen there, I was having a really hard time to choose which ones to bring home. Maybe some of the little radiant, orangey hokkaidos that seem to have a good time on the dance floor? Or some of the more elegant yellow spaghetti-pumpkins over at the bar? Or some of the shy butternut girls giggling in the corner? Or some of the blue-coloured snobby guys that are viewing things from a distance, probably gossiping away? Or the little colourful knobbly ones that seem to bounce all over the place?

Big surprise: I wanted to take them all!
Unfortunately, I do not own a truck, which made me decide for a few interesting individuals and I cheerfully loaded them into my car. On the way home, with much (rock’n) rolling around in the boot, I was already imagining all the possible delectable ways of preparing those “partyers”…

And one of the best ways ever, is this recipe! It doesn’t just taste amazing, it also looks really cute, if you use very small pumpkins (that other people might use for decoration only). Great as a main dish with some rocket salad and couscous to go with it, but also lovely as entree for your Autumn-dinner.
The soft flesh of the pumpkin harmonises wonderfully with the chewy walnuts and hearty blue cheese and garlic, while rosemary and thyme give it even more depth. And the little spots of extra sweetness added by dried cranberries make every single bite even more enjoyable… Definitely one of my favourite ways to eat pumpkin :–)

Last time, I baked some fruit along with the pumpkin and it turned out great! You should definitely give it a try!

Any leftovers? Lovely! Your next day’s lunch already half made ;–) Just cut it up and have it as topping on your favourite grains or salad or soup…

Ingredients:

• 1 small hokkaido (or other small pumpkin suitable for stuffing)
• 1 – 2 handfulls (depending on pumpkin-size) of walnuts
  (or pecans), roughly chopped
• 1 – 2 handfulls (depending on pumpkin-size)
  of dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 75 g blue cheese
• 1 garlic clove, minced or finely chopped
• 2 sage leaves fresh or dried, finely chopped
• 2 springs fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried), finely chopped
• 2 springs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
• Salt
• Pepper
• optional: 1 small red chilli chopped or chilli powder to taste
• a few drops of olive oil

Options for serving:

• rocket salad (highly recommended – a real dream-team;–))
• couscous
• bread
• other oven-baked fruit and vegetables (grapes, citrus fruits, apples, figs, garlic, onions…)
• bit of sage butter

Directions:

1. The nice thing with hokkaidos: the skin is edible. So give it a nice wash at first (also possible other fruits/veges). Cut a lid off your pumpkin, to be able to deseed it next. Then lightly salt and pepper it on the inside (also the lid).
2. Get yourself a small bowl and add nuts, cranberries, garlic, herbs, 1 tsp of salt, some pepper and the chilli if used and give it a little mix. Crumble blue cheese into the bowl and stir until everything is well mixed. Transfer this filling into your pumpkin and press down with a spoon to make sure every last bit of space is used. Put the lid back on, rub the skin with a little bit of olive oil (also other possible fruits/veges) and lightly salt and pepper it on the outside.
3. Transfer to an oven proof dish (along with your additional fruits/veges) and bake for approx. 45 minutes at 200°C top-bottom.
4. Serve with a simply marinated rocket salad and enjoy the amazing taste of Autumn.

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Yields approx. 1 – 2 portions as main dish or 3 – 4 as side dish or starter (all depending on the pumpkin size of course ;–))