International dishesNoodlesEurope and North America50 minutes preparation, 30 minutes cooking
Baked pumpkin stuffed with macaroni and cheese turns the whole pumpkin into the pot, and everyone spoons straight from it. Choosing a pumpkin that sits steady in the oven is the tricky part. The cheese sauce needs constant stirring until it bubbles and thickens before the macaroni goes in.
The pumpkin bakes for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C, until the sauce bubbles at the surface and turns deep gold. The cooked macaroni is stirred into the sauce off the heat and seasoned with salt and pepper.
This batch weighs about 1.4kg, at roughly 317 calories per 100g.
Method
Heat the oven to 180 degrees C on the fan setting.
Heat a pan over low heat, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and fry 10g finely chopped onion until soft.
Add 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and 50g butter, and wait until the butter has melted.
Add 200g emmental cheese cut into small pieces and 400ml heavy cream, and stir until the cheese melts.
Whisk and stir constantly until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
Turn off the heat, stir in 400g cooked macaroni and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Stir so the cheese coats the macaroni, spoon the pasta and cheese into the hollowed pumpkin and bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese sauce bubbles and turns deep gold.
Scatter freshly ground black pepper over the top, then add 40g parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil and finely chopped parsley.
Tips
Shredded cheddar cheese at the same 200g stands in when emmental cheese is hard to buy.
A round, medium pumpkin with thick flesh sits steady during baking.
The sauce is stirred until it bubbles and thickens properly before the pasta goes in, since a thin sauce runs to the bottom of the pumpkin.
The macaroni is boiled slightly underdone, because it keeps cooking in the oven.
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