With Halloween happening this weekend and Thanksgiving
coming soon, I thought I would experiment with some pumpkin recipes. Pumpkins are very versatile in the cooking
world. They can be hollowed out and used
for decorating tables, holding soup, or serving dip. Cakes can even be baked inside them. Today, I present you with a lasagna stuffed
pumpkin. If you love pumpkin lasagna,
this will be an easy and elegant equivalent.
I suggest serving this to your guests for the holidays. It's vegetarian and gluten-free
friendly. You can purchase raw pumpkin
seeds for the pesto instead of shelling your own and you can also adapt the
recipe for a larger pumpkin or different ingredients. I like to peel off the skin and slice into
the pumpkin and lasagna, with a little dip into the spinach pesto. Yum!!
1 (3-4) pound pie pumpkin, washed and dried
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 gluten-free brown rice lasagna noodles, uncooked
9 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
3-4 ounces spinach leaves
1½ cups half-and-half
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 gluten-free brown rice lasagna noodles, uncooked
9 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
3-4 ounces spinach leaves
1½ cups half-and-half
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Romano cheese
Spinach-Pumpkin Seed Pesto
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, shelled
1 clove garlic
½ tablespoon lemon zest
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, shelled
1 clove garlic
½ tablespoon lemon zest
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
1. Preheat oven to
350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with
foil and set aside. Cut off the lid of
the pumpkin and set aside. Remove seeds
and fibers and rub inside of pumpkin with oil and garlic.
2. Break one lasagna
noodle into two or more pieces to fit inside bottom of pumpkin. Cover with about ¼ cup ricotta and an ounce
of spinach. Mix half-and-half with
nutmeg, sage, salt, and pepper. Pour
about ¼ cup over spinach layer. Cover
with a heaping ¼ cup of mozzarella.
3. Repeat Step #2
three more times. Cover with remaining
noodle and half-and-half mixture. Sprinkle
with the grated cheese and replace pumpkin lid to cover. Bake on prepared sheet for about 2 hours or
until noodles are tender and sauce is thickened. Remove from oven and let rest.
4. Place spinach
leaves, shelled seeds, garlic, and lemon zest in a food processor and process
until minced. While the machine is
running, slowly pour in olive oil and blend until smooth. Add the cheese and process until combined. Stir in salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Remove lid from
pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into quarters. Serve with pesto.
Servings: 4
