Sweaters and scarves

Although it is incredibly hard to tell here in B’lore, Fall has arrived.  We have gotten a little bit more rain, the weather has cooled off by a few degrees, and the Giants have won the World Series again; but other than that it really doesn’t feel like Fall.

In an attempt to force the feeling, some of our good friends hosted a Pumpkin Stew Fall Fest.  It was an amazing night of great food and good friends.  It still doesn’t quite feel like Fall, but here is a great recipe!

Pumpkin Stew

One round pumpkin, about 10 inches in diameter

2 ½ pounds lean boneless lamb or 2 cups white fava beans

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups vegetable soup broth

5 carrots cut in ½ inch chunks

2 zucchini cut in ½ inch chunks

Extra pumpkin, cooked and cubed

2 tablespoons flour (rice flour for gfree version)

Cinnamon stick

1/8 teaspoon ground clover

1/8 teaspoon ginger

Dash of cayenne pepper

Cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin, about 6 inches in diameter.  Scrape out the seeds, fibers and flesh from the inside of the pumpkin and discard, leaving about a 1 inch shell.  Wrap the stem from the pumpkin lid with foil and replace the lid.  Place the whole pumpkin into a shallow roasting pan with about a ½ inch of water and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (or until tender). 

Cut the lamb into 1 inch cubes and brown over medium heat, or soak and cook the fava beans.  Sauté together the onions and garlic, then combine with the lamb or beans in a pot.  Add the cinnamon, ginger, cayenne pepper, and broth to the meat/beans, onion and garlic; cover and simmer for about an hour.  After some time, add the carrots, zucchini and extra pumpkin to the simmering stew. 

When the pumpkin and the stew are cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat/beans and veggies from the pot to the cooked pumpkin (leave the pumpkin in the roasting pan).  Remove the cinnamon stick.   

Add 2 tablespoons of flour (or rice flour) to the leftover broth liquid and boil until thick.  Add thickened broth to the pumpkin with the rest of the stew.  Put the lid back on the pumpkin and return the pumpkin with the stew to the oven.  Bake for about 30 more minutes. 

Remove the pumpkin from the oven.  Carefully transfer the pumpkin from the roasting pan to a serving tray (use a lot of spatulas and two sets of hands!).  Use a metal spoon to scrape the cooked pumpkin flesh from the inside of the pumpkin into the stew (be careful not to make the pumpkin walls too thin or they will collapse).  Give the stew one last stir to mix everything together.

Enjoy!