One of the things I took away from yesterday’s post is that some of you would like to know how to make a Pumpkin Casserole. Since I aim to please, here you go! I don’t know if I’ll be making this recipe again, as I found it a little watery when heated (the pic below is pre-heated, meaning BEFORE I heated it.) And yes, I know the recipe name is supposed to be “Scalloped,” but I stole the recipe from Cooking Light, October 1997, so I wanted to be up-front about that by renaming it. Feel free to scalp this recipe for yourself, and let me know how it goes!
6 cups cubed peeled fresh pumpkin (2 pounds) (This is really hard to do. There’s a reason most recipes call for canned pumpkin. Chopping fresh pumpkin is HARD and NO FUN. It took me about 45 minutes to fully cube a football-sized pumpkin squash.)
Cooking Spray (FYI, I used Pam.)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion (Neat trick! If you light a candle while cutting onions, it helps with the crying. I used a super-potent white onion this time.)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour, because it’s what I had on hand. It may have led to my eventual wateriness issue.)
2 cups low-salt chicken broth (Being a vegetarian and all, I used vegetable stock. It may have also led to the wateriness issue.)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I keep my salt in the fridge because the steam from cooking and summer in general made it clump. Does anyone know why I shouldn’t do this?)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (After I added this, I remembered that I don’t really like nutmeg. Just this little bit leads to a big nutmegy taste, so if you want it to taste more pumpkin piey, I’d recommend using ginger, allspice, or cinnamon.)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (I have nothing to say about this.)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese, divided (The only part of this recipe that resembles anything “light” is the reduced fat cheese. I find reduced-fat ANYTHING morally reprehensible, and I hate to pay for someone to shred cheese for me, so I got a block of real Swiss and shredded it myself.)
1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry (I used fresh spinach, which may have also lead to my wateriness issue. I just couldn’t stand to wait for the thawing, the draining, and the drying.)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375
Cube pumpkin to bite-sized pieces, cook in boiling water for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain; set aside.
Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat; add onion, and saute 7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove onion from skillet, and set aside. (I forgot to take the onions out before moving on to the next step. I had to remove them with a slotted spoon. It could be the reason the casserole was too watery, but I doubt it.)
Add flour to skillet. Gradually add broth, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat or until thick and bubbly (about 6 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
Combine pumpkin, onion, 1/4 cup cheese, and spinach in a bowl. Spoon pumpkin mixture into a 6-cup gratin dish (I don’t actually know what a gratin dish is. I just used this one that my mom got me for Christmas) coated with cooking spray. Pour sauce over pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over gratin. Bake at 375 degrees (I don’t know how to make the little circle for “degrees” so I have to type out the whole word) for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
MMMMMM…. Yummy, watery dinner. Even better the second day!
15 responses so far ↓
Allie // October 2, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Thanks! I really appreciate it.
You’re welcome! And thanks for all your tips!
tinetastic // October 2, 2007 at 8:34 pm
a gratin dish is shallow, usually glass like pyrex, it sorta looks like a souflet dish that’s been smoooshed.
I think I’m glad I didn’t go out and buy that then. That’s good to know for the future!
alyndabear // October 2, 2007 at 9:47 pm
I didn’t know you could make so many things out of a pumpkin! Here we just bake it or boil it, as a plain ol’ veggie
I would make my bed of pumpkin if I could.
Anaka // October 2, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I love any recipe with pumpkin - recently I tried the best pumpkin dessert from Turkey (well, it wasn’t actually flown in from Turkey, but a real live Turkish person made it). I will try to make your pumpkin recipe, soon!
Mmmm, pumpkin, dessert and Turkey (the country, not the bird) sound like a divine combo!
nancypearlwannabe // October 3, 2007 at 7:18 am
I especially like how you posed it in the fall leaves for the picture.
Thanks! That’s my backyard, during lunch yesterday before the re-heating.
stilettoheights // October 3, 2007 at 8:26 am
yummmmm…..
ok here’s the deal, I am not “allowed” to use the kitchen, as I have been prone to disasters…
now, will you make me some??
Since I don’t think it will mail well, next time I’m in the Midwest, I’ll try and bring some over!
lizgwiz // October 3, 2007 at 9:55 am
I would have made all the same “adjustments” you did–vegetable broth, real cheese–so I guess when I make it I’ll just expect it to be watery! Who cares as long as it’s tasty?
If you do try it, let me know how it goes for you!
-R- // October 3, 2007 at 10:13 am
I hate nutmeg too. Also, I am anti-pre-shredded cheese and will only buy blocks of cheese. Why? I don’t know.
-R- // October 3, 2007 at 10:13 am
PS When Stefanie and I had dinner last week, at one point, we both said, “Birminghaaaaam!” with our fists raised.
stefanie // October 3, 2007 at 3:44 pm
So you’re thinking canned pumpkin would be fine? I may have to try this some night soon… (I even have chicken broth left over from my cooking adventure last weekend, and I never have that sort of thing on hand.)
I don’t know if canned pumpkin would work. It wouldn’t help the wateriness issue at all. You may try it with some completely unrelated cube-able vegetable, though.
guinness girl // October 3, 2007 at 3:55 pm
YUMMO! I have the same question as Stefanie - do you think it would be as yummy with canned pumpkin?
See above. The taste would be great, but I’m not so sure about the consistency. (And thanks for commenting, you lurker, you!)
Kelli // October 4, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Now I am hungry.
Suddenly that tuna sandwich I ate for lunch wasn’t as amazing as I thought it was….
BOSSY // October 4, 2007 at 1:54 pm
You had Bossy at “watery.” No, not ‘watery’, ‘Scalloped.’
Jennifer M. // October 4, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I don’t know if there is any reason not to keep salt in the fridge, but you could also add some rice to the salt shaker to absorb the moisture and since a grain of rice is bigger than the hole in the shaker stuff stays separated. No input on a box of salt though.
Allie’s Answers » Blog Archive » Tip of the Day - Decorate for Halloween the Eco-Friendly Way, Part 2 // October 9, 2007 at 11:31 am
[...] your pumpkins with non-toxic paint, instead of carving and you’ll have plenty of pumpkin for casseroles and other festive fall [...]
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