Pumpkin Stew (Cooked in the Pumpkin)

southern chef in louisiana's Note:

This smells so wonderful while it is cooking and makes a great presentation dish. Good comfort food for cold nights and kids think it's COOL!

• Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 10 -12 lbs pumpkin
• 2 lbs beef stew meat
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 bell pepper, diced into large pieces
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 medium potatoes, cubed
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 -3 cups water
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Carve a hole in the top of the pumpkin; remove seeds and stringy inside, then set the pumpkin aside.
2. Brown the meat in a Dutch oven, then add all the cut up vegetables, salt, pepper, and water. Let simmer 1 hour.
3. Place pumpkin in shallow baking pan. Fill with the stew mixture. Brush the sides of the pumpkin with oil and cook on 350°F for 2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender. Serve.
4. Be sure to get chunks of pumpkin in your stew as you serve it--this enhances the flavor.

Reviews

[Chef #168255]

Fabulous!!! It tastes even better than it looks. I made this for Halloween and everyone loved it. The only change I made was to use a little more beef since we're a bunch of carnivores. :)

[Chef #1424514]

i took this recipe a little further. I added curry and pumpkin pie spice to it. I also added gold raisins and dried cherries. I also added a half a sweet potatoe chopped. the smells while baking were heavenly.

[Pixie's Kitchen]

This was perfect for Halloween and had the whole house smelling lovely. The only think I did differently was to add 2 bay leaves and a little bit of rosemary. Thank you for posting such a fun recipe and I can't wait to make it for Halloween next year!