Pumpkin Feast - Pumpkin cups with minced beef

Autumn is in its best in England and pumpkins of all different sizes and shapes are back on the counters, ready to be used in all possible kinds of autumnal dishes. I love autumn and I love pumpkins. Their use in the kitchen is very versatile and you can make both sweet and savoury dishes with them or use them in breads, etc. There are many types of pumpkins and I have to say that I have been mostly cooking with butternut squash so far but with the Halloween coming up and with the beautiful choice in the supermarkets, I tried some other types as well this time.

I bought these mini pumpkins, also known as “Jack-Be-Little-Pumpkins” that are very cute and very nice for decoration and then later perfect for stuffing or for serving Halloween party drinks :). I wanted to stuff them with minced meat, the pumpkins’ flesh and sage (which is one of the herbs that goes beautifully with pumpkin; other herbs that go really nicely with pumpkins are thyme or rosemary). But as I soon found out, the walls of these pumpkins are very thin and most of the inside is the seeds and so there is not enough of the flesh. So I ended up adding some more ingredients. All in all, it was a perfect starter into our pumpkin feast. Enjoy!

Pumpkin cups with minced beef:

3 mini pumpkins

200g minced beef

1 white onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

½ cup of couscous

½ leek, chopped

½ tinned chopped tomatoes

3 leaves of fresh sage + 3 more for decoration

Cheese of your choice for decoration (goats cheese or Camembert goes very well with pumpkins)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Prepare your pumpkin: 
1. Cut the top of your pumpkins to create a lid (with the mini pumpkins about 1,5cm from the stalk).

2. Remove all the seeds and loose flesh from the inside of the pumpkin.

3. You can save the seeds for roasting if you want. Cut the flesh into small pieces so that it is ready for stir frying.

4. Put the hollowed out pumpkin into the oven for about 200°C for 20 minutes, season the inside with salt, drizzle with olive oil and bake them so that the remaining flesh inside is cooked and you can eat it with the mixture filling.

Prepare your meat filling:

1. Pour olive oil into a pan and wait until it’s hot. Add the chopped onion and allow it to soften for 5 minutes. Then add the pumpkin flesh and fry for another 5 minutes. 

2. Add the garlic and after about 1 minute, add the minced beef and break it up with your wooden spoon. Fry for another 10 minutes or until the meet is brown. Then add the leek and the chopped tomatoes and sage (you can chop it or you can add whole leaves) and cook for another 10 minutes covered with a lid.

Couscous and finishing touches:

1. In the meantime, prepare your couscous. Put the couscous into a bowl, add some salt (not too much, you can always add some later) and pour hot water over it. Pour about as much so that the water is about 2cm above the couscous. Cover with a plate or kitchen foil and allow the couscous to absorb the water for about 5 minutes.

2. Now you’ve got everything ready so combine the couscous with the meat mixture and season according to taste.

3. Fill the pumpkins with the mixture, put the cheese on the top and put to the oven for another 3 minutes to allow the cheese to melt a bit.

4. Place the pumpkin lids on your pumpkin cup and serve.

 

 

Posted in: halloween,jack-be-little pumpkin,light meals and snacks,minced meat filling,pumpkin,pumpkin recipe,sage