Beef Stew in a Pumpkin

"Taste of Home. Beautiful presentation. Excellent for fall celebrations. I usually add bay leaf and dried thyme or marjoram to the stew. You can add whatever spices/herbs you prefer."
 
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photo by Becky74 photo by Becky74
photo by Becky74
Ready In:
5hrs
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
8-10
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 tablespoons oil.
  • Add water, potatoes, carrots, green peppers, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper.
  • Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
  • Stir in bouillon and tomatoes.
  • Wash pumpkin; cut a 6 to 8 inch circle around top stem.
  • Remove top and set aside; discard seeds and loose fibers from inside.
  • Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan.
  • Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace the top.
  • Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not overbake).
  • Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.

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Reviews

  1. Made this last weekend for a family get-together. You are so right, it makes a spectacular presentation. The stew was simple but very hearty. I didn't add any herbs but might consider adding some thyme and marjoram next time. Thanks for a splendid and festive meal for our family.
     
  2. I?ve stuffed pumpkins a few times before, with the original and some of the variations of the bread, cheese, bacon recipe found at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130704456. But I was excited to try a totally different twist. I only wish I could get pumpkins for a longer stretch of the year! This was great; five stars says my DH. I did make a few changes: added a bunch of herbs (oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme) but more importantly tossed the beef chunks in seasoned (S&P) flour before cooking, which definitely thickened up the sauce and made them a little browner. Added a little more liquid to compensate. Would also add a glug or two of red wine if I had an open bottle. If it doesn't seem beefy enough, I'd add a tad of anchovy paste or just one anchovy smooshed in. My 4.5lb pumpkin was still more than enough for three of us and only took an hour to cook. I?ll scrape out the rest of the meat and toss with the stew leftovers that didn't fit in it. Another possibility: It's definitely a full meal, but could use a little more green, in my opinion. Next time I might add some green beans, in the stew or just on the side.
     
  3. I have always wanted to make beef stew in a pumpkin but have suffered from serious pumpkin phobia. With the help of my best friend, we conquered the big pumpkin together. I can't begin to describe how beautiful this looked and how delicious it smelled. The taste did not disappoint us either. We were all just amazed. We are going to make this a yearly tradition. Thanks so much.
     
  4. I highly recommend this recipe, not only is it brautiful (The oiled pumpkin appeared glazed into a the burnt sienna crayon colored) The flavor-Delicious-earthy and rustic. I added more stew beef than recipe stated, added 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. ea, marjoram and thyme. Instead of ading the tomatoes and beef granules later I added them in the 1st 2 hours of simmering and added perhaps another cup of water due to the addtion of extra beef. In the initial step I ommited salt, thinking 2 Tbsp. of granules would be enough, it wasn't so, added that and a good enough amt. of gravy master since I prefer a darker stew. Only complaint I would say that there wasn't rich broth and cutting the pumpkin was a pain next time I'll take my DHs Sawzall (sp) to it. Fantastic recipe
     
  5. I made this last night and it was absolutely wonderful. It was well worth the effort and like other reviewers already mentioned, the presentation is just fantastic. thanks for posting this great recipe.
     
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