Dense, creamy, and fiery-fleshed, heirloom pumpkins are ripe for roasting.
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Mary-Frances Heck is a chef and freelance food editor, formerly a senior food editor at Food & Wine. In addition to her recipes and articles appearing in many well-known publications, she has her own cookbook, “Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried and Made into Pie.”
Updated on October 10, 2022
Hands down, my favorite pumpkin for cooking is the Long Island cheese pumpkin. Tan, smooth, and squat, these gorgeous gourds resemble wheels of cheese; their creamy, dense, and vibrantly orange flesh only adds to the illusion. An heirloom varietal preserved by seed savers in Long Island, New York, its flavor is a cross between butternut squash and sweet potato, with a vegetal aroma akin to its melon and cucumber cousins. With a thick skin and a large, flat cavity, these pumpkins are perfect for roasting whole — they sit stably on a baking sheet and can accommodate your choice of hearty fillings.
Last fall, after impulse-purchasing a case of cheese pumpkins, I went on the prowl for recipes to use them up, only to find bread-, cream-, and yes, cheese-stuffed versions. Hoping for something a little lighter and weeknight dinner–friendly, I calculated a rough ratio for cooking rice inside the pumpkin, aiming for a risotto-like texture. I love pumpkin in red curries and how the sweet aroma complements coconut milk, lemongrass, and ginger. And while this makes a hearty and warming main course, it also makes a wonderful side dish for roast fish or pork. Bring the whole pumpkin to the table on a rimmed baking sheet or platter and spoon the saucy rice, studded with tender pumpkin, into shallow bowls.
Seek out tan-skinned, smooth Long Island cheese pumpkins, orange-skinned Cinderella, deeply ridged Fairytale, or dusty, green-tinted Calabaza for this recipe.
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