Stuffed Whole Pumpkin with Spiced Seeds

Stuffed Whole Pumpkin with Spiced Seeds

This is quite a simple recipe which doesn't take too long to prepare, cooking time is fairly slow but worth the wait... 

I have used a 2-3 kilo round pumpkin... cut out the lid and scrape out the seeds and strings with a metal spoon and season the inside of the pumpkin... rinse off the seeds and allow them to dry on paper towel while preparing the pumpkin for baking.

This sized pumpkin will serve 10 - 20 people as a side dish

or 6 chunky appetites as a meal

• In a large bowl tare into small 1/2 inch pieces two large wholemeal/multi grain bread rolls.
• In a large fry pan with a tablespoon of oil soften some crushed garlic, a large chopped onion and a couple of stalks of chopped celery... cook until just starting to pick up some colour and then add 500grams of sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until soft... add this mixture to the bowl with bread and stir through some fresh chopped fresh herbs of your choice such as, thyme, coriander and parsley, a pinch of cayenne pepper if you fancy a kick, a handful of grated tasty cheese, a 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 3 large eggs and finally 1/2 cup of milk... squash this into the pumpkin shell, replace the lid and bake in a 180 oven for 90 minutes.
• At this point remove from the oven, remove the cap and fluff up the stuffing so that it comes up higher than the top... pop it back in the oven without the cap until it is cooked through when pierced with a sharp knife probable another 30 minutes or so... rest for 10 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with spiced seeds which can be prepared and cooked while the stuffed pumpkin is happening... To make these yummy morsels stir together in a small bowl put 2 teaspoons of peanut oil or similar, 1 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, salt and pepper and mix through the dried pumpkin seeds... lay these on a sheet of baking paper in a single layer and bake them until crunchy and golden brown on the top shelf of the oven - about 20 minutes (watch closely or they will burn)