by Brad Wolff / Eatopia Catering
Served in the pumpkin itself, this makes a beautiful centerpiece. Use a pumpkin that is wider than it is tall so that it will stand upright without tilting. Buy your pumpkin before Halloween or they might not be available. If uncut, a pumpkin will last about 6 weeks. Store in a cool place but do not let freeze.
Pumpkin Stew
Yield: about 4 quarts
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons fresh Basil or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried
- 3 tablespoons fresh Oregano or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried
- 2 teaspoons fresh Marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 6 large tomatoes, peeled and diced (1 quart) or 2 – 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes with liquid
- 3 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob or 12 oz. frozen corn
- 2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
Method
- IF USING FRESH PUMPKIN: Cut top from pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy fibers. With a large spoon, scrape out pumpkin pulp, being careful to leave at least a half inch on the sides and bottom so it will stand up.
- TO PREPARE STEW: Put olive oil in a 5 quart or larger pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions, and garlic until tender. Drain navy beans and add to pot with pumpkin, water, herbs and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour if using canned beans or 3 hours if using dry beans. Add tomatoes, corn and salt. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- WHEN READY TO SERVE, place pumpkin shell on serving platter and ladle hot stew into it.
Image Credit: Pumpkins photo via Shutterstock