Cut off the top of the Blue Hubbard pumpkin. I used about 5 different knives and 3 different people, a saw may have helped!

Scoop out the fibre/seedy stuff and save to distribute to keen gardeners in the area.
Grate a variety of different cheeses into the hollow. After Christmas this was very easy. Cheddar, Caerphilly, Brie. tried to grate some Cambozola – it mushes rather that grates, but it doesn’t matter, in it went. Liberal Black pepper. Some crushed garlic, a bit of Nutmeg.

Filled to the top with double cream. Didn’t bother to stir.
I sat the pumpkin in a dish to catch any drips – there were none.
A lid was placed over the contents but I didn’t cover the whole thing in foil, I wanted the pumpkin to roast rather than steam.
Rub the skin with Olive oil. This would have been MUCH easier if I had thought of it before filling it with the dairy mountain, but achievable with an extra pair of hands.
1 hour at 200’c

Lid off. Loads of parmesan, back in for 10 mins.

Serve with friends, cola roast gammon, garlic green beans, crusty bread and more wine than is good for you. A perfect size to feed six people.

The final bit of this tale involves the remnants of the pumpkin which were put outside for the chickens to peck at but which were scoffed very rapidly by a most delighted border collie/spaniel cross. She ate the whole of it; including the hard shell, luckily with no ill effects.


Jacky x