Baby Pumpkins With Seafood

Name: Baby Pumpkins With Seafood
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 6 Jack Be Little mini-pumpkins; 2 tablespoons light brown sugar; 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter; 18 fresh bay scallops or 18 small shrimp, peeled and deveined, or 12 small cremini mushrooms, halved; Salt and freshly ground white pepper; 1 tablespoon flour; 1 ⅓ cup heavy cream, scalded; ¼ medium onion, peeled and stuck with 8 whole cloves; ½ cup Spanish tetilla or other semi-soft cheese, like fontina Val d’Aosta, diced; 2 teaspoons finely minced chives

Recipe from Las Ramblas

Adapted by Florence Fabricant

Updated November 1, 2018

Lars Klove for The New York Times

Media 1 of 1

Total Time: 1½ hours
Rating: 3(34)
Comments: Read comments

This recipe is adapted from Las Ramblas, a tapas restaurant in Greenwich Village, where mini-pumpkins are filled with a creamy sauce and shrimp. You may substitute mushrooms for the seafood or one acorn squash for the Jack-Be-Littles. Pair it with a glass of Puilly-Fuissé. —Florence Fabricant

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

6 Jack Be Little mini-pumpkins
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
18 fresh bay scallops or 18 small shrimp, peeled and deveined, or 12 small cremini mushrooms, halved
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 ⅓ cup heavy cream, scalded
¼ medium onion, peeled and stuck with 8 whole cloves
½ cup Spanish tetilla or other semi-soft cheese, like fontina Val d’Aosta, diced
2 teaspoons finely minced chives

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Use a sharp knife to cut tops off pumpkins, leaving about an inch of pumpkin around stem. With a spoon, scoop out strings and seeds. Put 1 teaspoon brown sugar in each pumpkin, restore lids and place pumpkins in a baking dish. Add water to come up 1 inch. Place in oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour.
Step 2
Meanwhile, melt 1 ½ tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Sauté seafood or mushrooms until just cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside, covered.
Step 3
Melt remaining butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour, then slowly add cream, whisking. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce has thickened. Add onion and simmer gently 10 minutes. Strain and discard onion. Return sauce to pan, add cheese and cook gently until it melts. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 4
When pumpkins are done, divide seafood or mushrooms among them. Add sauce. Replace lids. Just before serving, return to oven to heat through, 10 to 15 minutes. Lift lids, sprinkle with chives, replace lids and serve.

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