Pumpkin Stuffed with Herbed Apple Couscous
Serving an Herbed Apple Couscous stuffed in a roasted pumpkin is a stunning, beautiful, and healthy addition to fall and winter meals.
As a side dish, or even a main event, it’s easy to make, and perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving, or even a cozy night in.
How to Roast and Hollow Out a Pumpkin
Gather small pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins, one per person, olive oil, and salt.
Step 1: Cut the Pumpkin
Cut off the top 1/3 of the pumpkin.
Step 2: Scoop
Scoop out the seeds and strings using a sharp spoon or a melon baller.
Step 3: Bake
Add the pumpkins to a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Brush the oil over the pumpkins and the top, inside and out. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until partially cooked. It will continue to cook later after it’s stuffed with couscous.
Step 4: Fill
Fill the pumpkin with Herbed Apple Couscous or a fall Pumpkin Curry Soup.
Roasted Pumpkin Make Ahead Tip
To roast the pumpkin ahead of time, cut, scoop and oil the squash. Then, cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to bake (up to 12 hours). Sprinkle with salt just prior to baking (salt draws out moisture). Don’t add it ahead of time!
Pumpkin Stuffed with Herbed Apple Couscous
Serving an Herbed Apple Couscous stuffed in a roasted pumpkin is a stunning, beautiful, and healthy addition to fall and winter meals.
Ingredients
- 4 small baking pumpkins (about 1 lb), hollowed and seeded
- medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup apple, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
- ¼ cup minced sage
- 2 cups cooked couscous (cook with chicken stock)
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Hollow out pumpkins and remove seeds. Drizzle the inside of each pumpkin shell with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes while making the couscous. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.
- Cook the couscous, in chicken stock, according to package instructions to yield 2 cups cooked couscous. Cooking with chicken stock instead of water adds wonderful flavor. Set aside.
- Heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and apple. Saute until tender, then stir in thyme, minced sage, and maple syrup.
- Stir the cooked couscous into the apple onion mixture in the skillet. Stir in the toasted walnuts and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Evenly fill the partially cooked pumpkins with the stuffing mixture and place it in a shallow baking dish or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes more, or until the pumpkin is fork-tender but still retains its shape. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 386Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 577mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 8gSugar: 15gProtein: 11g