Lamb and Rice Stuffed Pumpkin

Don't you love watching the changing of the seasons through the food available at the farmer's markets?  We were almost out of Burton's Maplewood Farms maple syrup so it was time for a trip to the farmer's market in Broad Ripple.  There's one closer to home - and on the way to the office - but Tim doesn't sell his fabulous syrup there.  He's the same guy I've told you about who makes the rum maple syrup by putting it in barrels that'd been used for rum.  Seriously good stuff.  Here's a link to their site:  Burton's Maplewood Farm.  They've got some great recipes on their website too.  Connie and I are going to work our way through the maple mixology. For those of you who aren't lucky enough to get to chat Tim up at a farmer's market, they do ship. 

While at the farmer's market, we picked up some kale.  I'd seen a recipe in FoodNetwork magazine for an antipasto salad.  It had a base of kale topped with gardineria, cubed and cooked potatoes, hard cooked egg quarters, capers and salami with an oil and vinegar dressing.  Sounded like a perfect lunch.  It was.  I subbed tuna for the salami and added kalamata olives.  I wish I'd added just a few little cubes of provolone but that was at home...

We also got a great new cheese from Traders Point Creamery.  It's washed with Sun King Wee Mac beer.  YUM!  And, we picked up a gorgeous bunch of beets with fabulous greens.  Last but not least, we got two pie pumpkins.  Then, it was off to Kincaid's to get duck legs for confit.  Finally, the Binford market to get ground lamb patties from our friends at Viking Lamb.

Next stop.  The office.  We got oodles done but not nearly as much as we needed to get done.  So, back again on Sunday...  Now, I will confess that while at the office I looked at some recipes for baking casseroles inside pumpkins.  Nothing particularly struck my fancy.  I kept going back to the idea I'd had. 

Connie cut the top of the pumpkin off and scooped out all the seeds.  We roasted those then tossed them in a mixture of Penzey's Northwoods BBQ seasoning and Five Spice powder.  I put together the casserole.

What did we think?  Seriously good.  Now, I didn't write down measurements as I went so you'll need to gauge what's right for you.

Lamb and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 2-3 lb pie pumpkin, top removed and seeds scraped
1 pound ground lamb
1 package Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild rice
1 bunch kale, chopped
white wine
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 c milk
1 c shredded Jarlsberg cheese
panko bread crumbs
1/4 c shredded Jarlsberg cheese
1 T butter
thyme

Directions:

Brown and drain the lamb.  Remove the lamb to a bowl.  In the same skillet, lightly brown the rice.  Reserve the spice package for another use.  Toss the chopped kale in with the rice.  Let it cook until the kale softens.  Deglaze the pan with a good splash of white wine.  In a medium saucepan, make the mornay sauce.  Melt the butter.  Stir in the flour and allow it to cook on medium for about five minutes.  It'll be lightly browned.  Slowly stir in the milk.  Keep stirring until the sauce has thickened.  Add the shredded cheese and just a smidge of grated nutmeg.  Now it's time to mix it all together

and stuff it in your cleaned out pumpkin. 

Toast the panko crumbs in the butter.  Remove them from the heat and toss in the 1/4 c shredded cheese and the thyme.  Put the cheese crumbs on top of the stuffed pumpkin. 

Bake for about 75 minutes or until the pumpkin is very soft.  It's best to bake this in a baking dish with about an inch of water in the bottom.  Bake at about 350 degrees.  You can serve this either cut into wedges or scooped out with generous portions of the pumpkin.