Pumpkin Fondue

One of my all time favorite vegetables is pumpkin. Sweet or spicy, baked, sauteed or pureed, I anticipate many pie pumpkins each autumn. I'm always looking for something a little different to do and this Pumpkin Fondue happens to be a fantastic recipe to make for yourself or share. {The fact that it is filled with CHEESE is a bonus in my book!} I originally made the recipe out of Gourmet magazine, but have tweaked things a bit to be more to our liking.

I adore a one-dish wonder and this is it! It can be served as an appetizer or a side to your feast. The idea that the cooking vessel is the pumpkin itself is quite trendy if you see this month's cover of Food Network magazine (or maybe it was Rachel Ray?) and shouldn't intimidate you! I use an old fashioned enamel roasting pan with perfect results and shallow enough to get the sucker out and onto a serving platter! (I made the mistake of putting it into a higher edged casserole dish the first time and it was a challenge to lift it out of the baking dish.)

The recipe calls for Swiss cheeses, but if you're a cheddar person, feel free to substitute! I have also successfully added blue cheese to my Swiss blend and it was fab! Cheese dishes taste a little bit better when you use a blend of cheeses; Gruyere and Emmentaler, Cheddar and Asiago, Butterkase and Manchego...it gives the finished dish more dimension. Some cheeses tend to be on the drier side and need a complimentary cheese to give it some goo (technical cheese term!). Shredded cheese from the grocery works well on pizza, but is not up to snuff flavor-wise for this recipe. If you want to use a squash, feel free! I made this in a butterCUP squash, a squatty, ridiculously tough skinned, dark green squash and it was delicious! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Fondue

1 5lb-ish PIE pumpkin (do not use jack o lantern type pumpkin)
1 lb. Cheese- 1/2 lb. Gruyere and 1/2 lb. Emmentaler or read above
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups stock, vegetable, chicken or veal
a generous pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
10 1/4 inch thick baguette slices, toasted until dry and crispy
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
a pinch of Salt
Remainder of Baguette sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices for eating

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut top off pumpkin and clean out seeds. Sprinkle salt onto inside flesh of pumpkin.

Chop or grate cheeses and set aside. Bake baguette slices until crunchy and golden brown. Mix heavy cream, stock and nutmeg together.

Place pumpkin into shallow roasting dish and layer baguette slices, then cheese, then cream mixture into 2 layers inside pumpkin. You may have baguette left over.












Put pumpkin top back on. Rub exterior of pumpkin with olive oil. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and pumpkin is golden brown. Using 2 spatulas, remove from baking dish carefully and place on platter. Serve with additional baguette slices or as a side dish. You'll want to scoop up the roasted pumpkin flesh with all the cheese as you are serving or eating!