Well, this is awkward. I realize that just three weeks ago I was bad-mouthing pumpkin spice and it’s autumnal reign of terror. And here I am, presenting you with…..a pumpkin recipe.
My pumpkin sniping is patently unfair, because in truth pumpkins have a starring role in one of my favorite family memories. My dad planted an enormous backyard garden each spring and summer. If it could be grown in the warm and rainy upstate New York summers, he grew it – eggplant, sweet corn, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini (so many zucchini!), green beans, garlic, onions, and of course, pumpkins. When the pumpkins were still small, he would carefully scratch the names of all the neighborhood kids, one on each pumpkin, just millimeters into the soft green skin. As they matured over the summer, the pumpkins would form a raised “scar” over the letters, resulting in a personalized pumpkin for each child! The last week in October, Dad would take me on a late night ride to deliver pumpkins to everyone’s front porch for them to discover in the morning. I felt like I was part of a super-secret, spooky Halloween mission.
I promise you this recipe involves exactly 0 teaspoons of pumpkin spice, and smells nothing like a seasonal Yankee Candle. Inspired by a Russian recipe for stuffed pumpkin, it is filled with hearty pearl barley and meaty, savory dried shiitake mushrooms. For the deepest umami flavor, cook the barley in the shiitake soaking liquid. Then sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms along with savory herbs and a generous chunk of butter before stuffing into the pumpkin and baking until the flesh is tender and the stuffing gently sizzles.
This showstopping gourd would not be out of place as the star of a vegetarian Thanksgiving menu. It’s also a Halloween dinner healthy enough to justify your fun-size candy binge. (Or full-size. It’s still 2020 and I’m not here to judge you).
Happy Halloween!
Barley & shiitake stuffed pumpkin
The recipe makes enough to fill a ~2 lb sugar pumpkin, which should feed two very hungry adults as a main or 4 as part of a meal with side dishes (looking at you Thanksgiving!)
Ingredients
- 1 2-lb sugar pie pumpkin
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
- 15 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 medium white or yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- dried thyme to taste
- 3 tbsp butter
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Soak the mushrooms in a medium bowl of warm water for 2 hours. Remove and gently squeeze out excess liquid back into the bowl and set liquid aside. Slice mushrooms and set aside.
- Cook barley according to package directions, using the shiitake soaking liquid instead of water. Set aside to cool slightly. Reserve any extra mushroom soaking liquid for the moistening the stuffing.
- Carefully cut a hole in the top of your pumpkin around the stem and remove. Use a spoon to remove the stringy pulp and seeds (an ice cream scoop works well!). Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper and shake gently to coat. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium frying pan. Add onions and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, herbs, and salt & pepper to taste. Turn off heat, then add the cooked barley and butter, stir to melt. Add up to 1/3 cup mushroom soaking liquid to moisten.
- Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, and stuff with the barley mushroom mixture, then replace the top. Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour, until the pumpkin flesh yields easily to a knife.
- Remove from oven, let rest 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
This story makes me want to give your dad a hug and find a way to introduce his tradition into my kids’ lives. Thank you for the recipe and story, Emily!