Thanksgiving Day or Jour de l’action de grace is an annual Canadian holiday on the second Monday in October. It has been officially celebrated since November 6, 1879, when Parliament declared a national day of Thanksgiving. Celebrate the Canadian Thanksgiving Day with this delicious recipe.
Serves 2 to 4 as a main dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 2 half- to 3-lb. pumpkin
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 115 gr of dry bread, thinly sliced and cut into chunks
- 115 gr of cheese, such as Gruyère, Emmenthal, cheddar, or a combination, cut into chunks
- 2-4 garlic cloves (to taste) and coarsely chopped
- 4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped
- About 60 ml snipped fresh chives or sliced scallions
- minced fresh thyme
- About 80 ml cup heavy cream
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Preparation
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180° C. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment.
- Cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin. It’s easiest to work your knife around the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. Clear away the seeds and strings. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet.
- Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper – you probably have enough salt from the bacon and cheese, but taste to be sure – and pack the mix into the pumpkin. The pumpkin should be well filled. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin.
- Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 2 hours – check after 90 minutes – or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Because the pumpkin will have exuded liquid, remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.
- When the pumpkin is ready, carefully, transfer it to a platter that you’ll bring to the table.
- To serve, you can either spoon out portions of the filling or you can dig into the pumpkin with a big spoon, pull the pumpkin meat into the filling, and then mix everything up.