Fire-roasted stuffed pumpkins recipe

Ingredients

• 4 small pie pumpkins (1 to 2 lb [455 to 910 g] each)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ lb [225 g] bulk Italian sausage (mild or spicy)
• ½ medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 cups [480 g] cubed corn bread, homemade or store-bought (or use 4 corn muffins)
• 1½ cups [120 g] shredded Gruyère cheese
• ½ cup [60 g] crumbled goat cheese
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. To pre-roast the pumpkins, preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Place the pumpkins directly on the oven rack and roast until their skins are slightly darkened and shiny, and the flesh is more tender, about 35 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool until they’re easily handled (watch out for hot steam!). If you’re going to roast the stuffed pumpkins indoors, leave the oven at 350°F [180°C].
2. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion, and garlic powder and cook, breaking the sausage up into crumbles as you go, until it is browned and cooked through and the onion is soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the corn bread, Gruyère, goat cheese, and herbs to the pan and toss to mix evenly. Taste and season the stuffing with salt and pepper (it probably won’t need much salt).
3. Cut the top off of each pre-roasted pumpkin (as you would for a jack-o’-lantern) and set the tops aside. Scoop out the seeds and fibrous flesh with your hands or a large spoon, leaving the smooth, edible flesh intact. Season the insides of the pumpkins with salt and pepper, about ¼ tsp of each per pumpkin.
4. Fill the hollowed-out pumpkins with the corn bread and sausage mixture and replace the tops of the pumpkins. At this point, your pumpkins can be transported to a campsite for fire-roasting, or you can roast them right in your oven.
5. To roast the pumpkins in the oven, place them on large baking sheets. (If you prefer, you can cool the pumpkins completely and store them in the refrigerator for up to 1 day prior to cooking them.) Roast in the preheated oven until the flesh is tender, the filling is heated through, and the cheese is gooey, about 30 minutes.
6. If you’re cooking over a campfire, start the fire and add your coals about 30 minutes prior to cooking the pumpkins, so you’ll be cooking over hot coals as opposed to a roaring fire, which would overcook them. Add enough coals to create a surface area large enough to cook all of the pumpkins.
7. Double-wrap the stuffed pumpkins in foil, so they are completely sealed. Mound the hot briquettes or coals and bury the foil-wrapped pumpkins in them so just the top third is exposed. If you’re using hardwood charcoal, be sure to add more charcoal occasionally to keep the coals hot. Cook the pumpkins until the cheese is gooey and the centers are hot, about 30 minutes.
8. Transfer the pumpkins to serving plates or platters. I put out a pile of spoons and let everyone dig in.