Ruth Reichl's Cheesy Bread Whole Baked Pumpkin

I was listening to the Oct 14, 2009 NPR interview featuring Ruth Reichl, editor of the late great Gourmet Magazine. During the segment she mentioned one of her favorite fall dishes is a whole baked pumpkin with bread and cheese. I was intrigued & had to find out more about this delicious dish. The way Ruth describes the flavors of the melted creamy cheeses and bread, topped with golden roasted pumpkin & a touch of nutmeg just makes my mouth water!



This recipe and many great new recipes are featured in her new book Gourmet Today: More Than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen. The recipe is simple & easy with only a few ingredients!



Roast Pumpkin with Cheese "Fondue"

Serves 8 (as main dish) 12 (as a side dish)





Ingredients

1 (15-in) baguette cut into 1/2-in slices

1 (7-lb) orange pumpkin, sweet or pie pumpkin works best

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (sub half & half for lower fat)

1 cup reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental cheese

1 tbsp olive oil



Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with the rack in lower third of the oven.

2. Toast baguettes on a single layer sheet in the oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale) about 7 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

3. Remove the top of the pumpkin by cutting a circle 3-in in diameter around the stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds & any other loose fibers with a spoon from the inside of the pumpkin, as well as from the top. (Save seeds for another purpose if desired). Season inside of pumpkin with 1/2 tsp of salt.

4. Whisk together cream, broth, 1 tsp salt, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.

5. Put a layer of toasted baguette on the bottom of the pumpkin & layer with 1 cup of cheese and about 1/2 cup of cream/broth mixture. Continue layering the bread, cheese and broth mixture until the pumpkin is filled  about 1/2-in from the top using all the cream/broth mixture up. You may have leftover bread or cheese.

6.  Cover pumpkin with top and place in an oiled roasting pan. Brush the outside of the pumpkin with oil. Bake until the pumpkin is tender and the filling is puffed about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.



**Pumpkin can be assembled and chilled prior to baking up to 2 hours.