Shepherd’s pie stuffed pumpkin
Yield: 8 servings
• 1 large or 2 small pie pumpkins
• 1 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut
into 1-inch pieces
• 1 ½ pounds ground beef or lamb
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• » cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups frozen pea-carrot medley, thawed
(optional)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup half-and-half
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cover potatoes with water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Cut top of pumpkin to create a lid, as you would with jack-o’-lanterns. Clean out seeds with a spoon, scraping the insides down to the pulp. Set aside.
4. While potatoes are cooking, brown meat in large pan over medium heat, breaking meat up with a spoon, until meat is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain, reserving 2 tablespoons fat.
5. Add reserved fat back to pan, and heat on medium. Add onion, mushroom (if
using) and ¼ teaspoon salt, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until flour is incorporated, about 1 minute.
6. Whisk in broth, thyme and Worcestershire sauce into onion mixture, scraping pan as you go, and bring to a simmer. Return meat to pan and cook over medium-low heat until sauce is thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Test for flavor and add salt and pepper to taste. Add peas and carrots into mixture, if using.
7. Drain potatoes, return to hot pot and mash until smooth. Stir in butter, then half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Rub the inside of the pumpkins with salt. Fill pumpkins 2/3 full with meat mixture. Fill pumpkins to bottom of opening with mashed potatoes. Replace tops of pumpkins. Place pumpkins on prepared baking sheet.
9. Bake in oven for approximately 90 minutes or until pumpkin “gives” when you squeeze the sides. It may take longer than 90 minutes depending on the size of the pumpkin.
10. If you would like to brown the mashed potatoes, broil them for 3 to 5 minutes with the pumpkin lid removed.
Per serving: 366 calories; 20 g fat; 8 g saturated fat; 68 mg cholesterol; 19 g protein; 22 g carbohydrate; 26 g sugar; 3 g fiber; 522 mg sodium; 62 mg calcium
—Recipe from prettyprudent.com