Autumn Glory
Instructions:
- Glorious pumpkin shells summon up the delights of autumn and seem too good simply to throw away. Use one instead as a serving dish. Pumpkin and pasta make marvelous partners, especially as a main course served from the baked shell
- 1.75kg/4-4 1/21b pumpkin
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2.5cm/ 1 in piece fresh root ginger
- 45ml/3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 courgette, sliced
- 115g/4oz sliced mushrooms
- 4OOg/14oz can chopped tomatoes
- 75g/3oz pasta shells
- 450mi/l/4 pint/l 1/4 cups stock
- 60ml/4 tbsp fromage frais
- 30ml/2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- salt and ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 180oC/ 350oF/Gas 4. Cut the top off the pumpkin with a large, sharp knife and scoop out and discard the pumpkin seeds.
- Using a small sharp knife and a sturdy tablespoon, cut and scrape out as much flesh from the pumpkin shell as possible, then chop the flesh into rough chunks.
- Bake the pumpkin with its lid on for 45 minutest hour until the inside begins to soften.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Gently fry the onion, ginger and pumpkin flesh in the olive oil for about IO minutes, stirring the mixture occasionally.
- Add the sliced courgette and mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes, pasta shells and stock. Season well, bring to the boil, then cover the pan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
- Stir the fromage frais and basil 6into the pasta and spoon the mixture into the pumpkin. It may not be possible to fit all the filling into the pumpkin shell, so serve the rest separately if necessary.
- Serves 4