Tonight’s supper! A good use of the old pumpkin, if you ask me. And a perfectly chilly day to be making something that needs 2+ hours in the oven. Enjoy!

Mr. Big Food himself:

This one came from a California cookbook I got in the mid 1980s for subscribing to the L.A. Times. (I was a naïve graduate student at the time, which explains why I subscribed to the L.A. Times.) This is an excellent Halloween dish, but be sure that the pumpkin flesh is cooked before you pull it from the oven and serve it. That can take a while, depending on the pumpkin. The stew is also good without the pumpkin. The variation (pictured here) comes from the season that Marica grew huge Banana winter squash in the garden.

ARGENTINIAN BEEF STEW IN A PUMPKIN SHELL AND VARIATION

2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 Tbsp oil
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 cup dried apricots
3 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups beef broth
1 large pumpkin (or winter squash)
Melted butter
Salt and black pepper to taste
¼ cup dry sherry
1 16 oz can whole kernel corn, drained

Cook meat with onion and garlic in oil until brown in large skillet or Dutch oven. Add tomatoes, green pepper, salt, black pepper, sugar, apricots, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and broth. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325˚ and carve top off pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and membranes. Brush inside of pumpkin with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir sherry and corn into stew and spoon into pumpkin shell. Place pumpkin in shallow pan with sides and bake 1-2 hours, checking for doneness of pumpkin flesh after the first hour. Place pumpkin in a large bowl and serve, scooping pumpkin flesh along with stew into individual bowls.

VARIATION

Replace pumpkin with scooped out shell of a large winter squash (keeping some of the squash flesh in the shell).