This is a good recipe if you want to feed a crowd. Queensland Blue pumpkin also works very well with this recipe – double the stuffing if a large pumpkin is to be used. Beware though that it can take a lot of room in your oven and takes longer to cook than you would expect – allow 2 hours.
Pumpkin, 6 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup coarsely shredded Swiss cheese, 1 bay leaf, 1 1/2 cups soft white breadcrumbs, 2/3 cup finely chopped onion, chopped fresh sage to taste, 2 cups cream (or enough to fill the pumpkin without overflowing).
Cut a lid out of the pumpkin about 14 cms in diameter. Scrape all the seeds and the stringy bits away with a spoon. Then sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin and lid with salt and spread with butter.
Cook the onions in butter till they are soft but not brown, stir in the breadcrumbs and let them soak up the butter. Add the seasonings and sage.
Off the heat stir in the cheese.
Fill the pumpkin with the stuffing and pour in the cream (not too full as it will bubble out otherwise) – place the bay leaf on top of the stuffing.
Cook in a fairly hot oven 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The pumpkin will hold its heat for some time.
