Cheesy Pumpkin Bake

M...eat...less

We have nice little farm where we grow cabbage, string beans, spinach thyme scallion, peppers, tomatoes, sugar cane, avocado, and the list goes on. At the present moment we have a huge pumpkin vine growing that has every intention of taking over the garden. Every now and again when the pumpkins are ready, we have more pumpkins than mouths to feed it. That’s how this recipe was born out of a need to use the most perfect pumpkin ever.

The pumpkin in question, was so pigmented and rich in color and flavor, my hands were stained orange from peeling the pumpkin and the skin was surprisingly not as difficult to peel as the supermarket varieties are. You can even see in the video how it stained the white cutting board (how smart of me)

The wild card element of this recipe for me was the texture element of pumpkin, as we know its super mushy and easy to cook and get soft, that’s why I decided to add crunchy pumpkin seeds. I got a bag tasted them un-toasted, they were not as crunchy and they had a slightly bitter after taste. So I decided to experiment and toast them, to be honest I borderline burnt them. However the taste was so delicious, like a nice roasted nut and very crunchy they aided greatly in the texture of the dish.

This make a perfect side dish, it’s amazingly flavorful due to the use of all the herbs.  I was skeptical that the pumpkin could hold up on its own, but it didn’t do too badly at all. It almost taste like a pizza. Just make sure to allow it to cool a bit before scooping, It  has the consistency of a juicy lasagna without the pasta (if that makes any sense lol) 

Ingredients (printable ingredient list)

For the pumpkin seeds

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

1 teaspoon oil

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon Garlic powder

¼ teaspoon Onion powder

¼ teaspoon Paprika

2 pinches Cayenne pepper

For the pumpkin

½ medium sized pumpkin (roughly 6 cups pumpkin)

2 pinches salt (for baked pumpkin)

1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional for baked pumpkin)

2 tablespoon coconut oil (for sauté of onion)

1½ cups chopped onion

6 cloves shredded garlic

2 tablespoon thyme leaves

5 sage leaves chopped

2 basil leaves chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup pepper jack

¾ cup mozzarella
¼ teaspoon allspice (to season mix)
¼ teaspoon salt (to season mix)
¼ teaspoon paprika (to season mix)

Xoxo Greedygirl