Whole Roasted Pumpkin with Brown Rice, Barberries, Cranberries and Sorrel

I was inspired to roast a whole stuffed pumpkin while at an orphan Thanksgiving. All us food- and circus-lovers (longer story) without family in Montreal came together for a potluck on a day meant for being with people you love. I knew a grand total of two people at the potluck hen I got there. But by the end of the night, I felt like family.

One of the potluck dishes was a whole roasted pumpkin stuffed with kale and rice and beans and lots of savoury, rich olive oil making the pumpkin flesh tender. It was the kind of dish you want to sit down with a spoon and eat—like jam straight from the jam, which coincidentally happened the next morning to the jam I’d brought, so I was told.

The beauty lies in being able to chuck it in the oven, bake it until the caramel sweet squash juices run from the flesh, then lift off the top and have everything inside be hot and rich and satisfying like a stew.

I thought about that pumpkin for weeks. My version is a little different. I used what I had. Instead of kale I had sorrel from my garden. Instead of beans, I had quinoa. I threw in the last of my green tomatoes (firm red ones work fine) and some sour barberries to balance my sweet dried cranberries. My point is that as long as the sour-sweet-savoury balance is good, you can use almost anything:

Eggplant
Zucchini
Swiss chard
Nuts
Grapes
Peeled Roasted Chestnuts (!!!!)
Rosemary
Garlic
Shallots
Parsley
Ground or thinly sliced meat or chicken (in Brazil this is pretty standard, I found out at the potluck. You can also use leftover chicken or beef)

So here’s what I did. Feel free to substitute or cut as you like.

Whole Roasted Pumpkin with Brown Rice, Barberries, Cranberries and Sorrel
1 medium sugar pumpkin or other almost spherical, roast-able squash
2-4 cups cooked brown rice (depending on the size of the pumpkin)
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups sorrel, chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp for the pumpkin skin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup barberries
3 tbsp dried cranberries
1 cps green tomatoes, chopped
2 cups diced eggplant
1/4 cup garlic chives
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp chopped sage

Rinse the pumpkin. Cut the top of the pumpkin like you would a jack-o-lantern. Scoop the seeds and slimy flesh out (reserve, wash and dry the seeds to roast separately if you want—10-15 minutes at 350 F with some salt and pepper, shaking the pan after 10).

Combine all the remaining ingredients and combine in a large mixing bowl. Stuff into the pumpkin. If there’s too much stuffing, roast extra in a separate roasting dish. Rub 1 tsp oil over the pumpkin skin and place on a baking sheet or roasting pan.

Roast in a 375 F oven for 45 minutes. Poke the pumpkin with a fork and if it doesn’t go in easily, return to the oven for 10-20 minutes more. Test again. The length of time depends on the size and type of the pumpkin.

Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to touch (the pumpkin, not you. Presumably you are already cool enough).

Life off the top and either scoop out the filling with some of the cooked pumpkin flesh, or eat directly from the pumpkin.