San Poil Pumpkin Stew
Not only delicious, but a great conversation piece, as well as a fabulous centerpiece, as you serve this dish right from the pumpkin shell.
Be sure the pumpkin you choose will fit into your oven.
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut in 1- 1/2" cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup dried apricots
3 white potatoes, peeled and diced
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups beef broth
1 large pumpkin (make sure it fits in the oven standing. I know I've said this before, but you'd be surprised.)
Butter or (if you must) margarine, melted (Kosher: use Parve or olive oil)
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 16-ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup pine nuts
Trim the fat from the beef, and cook in the oil, in a soup kettle, until browned. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes, green pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, sugar, apricots, white potatoes, sweet potatoes and broth. Cover and simmer for approximately 1 hour.
Meanwhile, carefully cut the top off the pumpkin so you can place it back on as a lid. Scoop out the seeds and stringy membrane. Save the seeds for baking on a cookie sheet.
Brush the inside of the pumpkin with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Stir sherry, corn and pine nuts into the stew and ladle the stew into the pumpkin shell.
Place the filled pumpkin shell and the pumpkin "lid " in a shallow baking pan and bake at 325ºF. for one hour, or until the pumpkin meat is tender. After carefully moving to a large bowl, replace lid and bring to table. Scoop out bits of pumpkin from inside the shell with the ladle as you serve the stew.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Note: This
conversion table might be helpful if you live in a country which
uses Celsius and other different measures.