Enjoy stuffed mini pumpkins as a side-dish, a light lunch or main dish. What's more, they're tasty, quick and easy too! Use the recipe base as a guide to your creativity.
100g (4 tbsp)cheese (Emmental, Comté, Parmesan, or Cheddar)grated (keep half for grilling at the end)
¼teaspoonfreshly milled pepper & pinch fleur de selor Celtic salt
Instructions
Prick each mini pumpkin with a fork underneath and cook them on plate in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. (If you don't have a microwave, then roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas 6.)
Set them aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a pan, fry the mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil (and bacon, if using) for about a couple of minutes or until cooked.
Slice off the cooled mini pumpkin tops and scoop out the seeds. (Either discard or toast the seeds later with salt.) This leaves a hollow cavity to fill.
Take the mushroom mixture off the heat, adding all the other ingredients (crème fraîche, walnuts/cooked chestnuts and half the cheese) and stuff the mixture into each mini pumpkin cavity.(At this point, you can set them aside in advance preparation and simply finish them off in the oven before serving.)
Keeping the tops aside for decoration only, place each stuffed pumpkin in a baking dish. Top with the rest of the grated cheese and place under the grill for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown and toasted.
Notes
Serve with extra chopped fresh herbs either on their own or with chicken or meat.For non vegetarians, add half a chopped rasher of smoked bacon to each mini pumpkin. For vegans: simply replace the cheese and crème fraîche with cooked quinoa or rice and add nuts of your choice for a no-turkey Thanksgiving or Christmas dish.