Get Baked: Cinderella Pumpkin Stew

Hey guys, you know when you first read Cinderella and you thought, “Holy shit![but hopefully as a kid you didn’t use bad words like ‘shit’] Cinderella gets to ride in a PUMPKIN coach! I want to ride in a pumpkin!” Well, this recipe will kinda make that dream come true, except not really.

Don’t worry though. I imagine actually riding in a pumpkin coach would be dangerous and uncomfortable. Cinderella probably hated it and just put up with the whole thing because of the dance and the prince and the patriarchy. Come to think of it, I’d much rather eat Cinderella stew than be Cinderella or ride in her coach. So let’s get to it then, shall we? If you don’t finish making and eating this stew by the stroke of midnight, it will all disappear. This is a serious undertaking with a measurable risk.

mmm…Cinderella stew

Ingredients:

The Stew:
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lb (907 g) lean stewing beef or lentils if you are a vegetarian
1/4 cup (60 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 can of tomatoes (undrained)
3 tbsp (45 mL) currants
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cumin
1 pinch cloves
1 bay leaf

The Pumpkin:
1 pumpkin (6 pounds, about the weight of a newborn baby)
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, melted
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1 pinch of pepper

The Topping:
1-1.5 cups (375 mL) of plain yogurt
1/2 cup (125 mL) of chopped green onions

Directions:

The Stew:

1. In a saucepan, melt butter and cook onions and garlic for approximately 5 minutes, or until the onions are limp. Remove and set aside

2. (skip this step if you’re using lentils instead of beef) Cut the beef into 1-inch cubes. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Add the meat and shake, shake, shake until it’s coated in flour.
In the saucepan, melt some more butter with olive oil over high heat. Add the meat, one layer at a time and cook it until it’s browned.

3. Return onion mixture and meat to the saucepan. Add tomatoes, currants, cinnamon, cumin, cloves and bay leaf. If you’re using lentils, stir them in. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil; then, simmer until meat is tender (about 1 1/2 hours) or, if you’re using the lentils, until the mixture thickens. Stir frequently.

The Pumpkin:

1. Wash the pumpkin, cut out a 4-inch lid, and then remove its guts. Save the seeds because wasting food is bad and roasted pumpkin seeds are good! Brush the inside of the pumpkin with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in oven at 425°F (220°C) for 25 minutes.

2. Pour stew into the pumpkin, cover it with the pumpkin-lid, and bake for about 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.

The Topping:
1. Right before serving, mix yogurt and onions. Spoon the topping on top (that’s why it’s called topping, get it?) of your pumpkin stew.

There are many ways to eat this Cinderella Pumpkin stew. You and friends could gather around the pumpkin like it is a cauldron and you are witches, or for a more “polite society” approach, just spoon the stew and pieces of pumpkin into bowls or onto plates. Easy! Enjoy! Remember to finish eating before the clock strikes midnight, or else you’ll go back to being pumpkin stew-less [cue scary music].

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Malaika

Malaika likes books, drinking tea, long conversations, dinner parties, making funny faces, bike rides, and dogs. Originally from Edmonton, she now lives in Montreal where she edits, runs, and writes about the Alberta Tar Sands for The Media Co-op. You can follow her on twitter @Malaika_Aleba.

Malaika has written 84 articles for us.

27 Comments

    • A recipe I used a week ago when I was carving pumpkins with a friend…

      – Rinse and dry your pumpkin seeds so there’s no pulp on them. Make sure the seeds are completely dry so they’ll cook faster.(If you need to, pat them with a paper towel!)

      – Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

      – Toss your seeds with 1-2 tbsp olive oil and seasonings** so that your seeds are pretty well-coated.

      – Dump out your seed-oil-seed mixture on a cookie sheet or pan and spread them so you have an even layer of seeds. (If you need to, use 2 pans so you can make sure they’re spread evenly!)

      – Bake for 15-17 minutes or so, or until they’re crispy (like potato chip-level crispy) and golden brown.

      – Let them cool and enjoy :)

      • seasonings** : use ones that don’t have large pieces of garlic/onion/whatever because they’ll burn and they might not stick all that well. I just went with granulated garlic seasoning salt but I think this would be great with curry or five-spice powder too.

  2. Do you recommend using one of the smaller, sweeter pumpkins (like Sweetie Pie pumkpins) instead of the larger ones used for Jack-o-Lanterns? Or does the stew make them taste better?

  3. THIS IS SUCH A COOL IDEA. It looks delicious. I’m quite excited to make this.

    There is nothing more fall-ish than eating pumpkin soup out of a pumpkin. Nothing.

  6. “6 pounds, about the weight of a newborn baby” is definitely the best phrase of this recipe.

    • Except that I was the lightest child in my family, at 7 pounds, so I’m use to holding 10 pound newborn babies. I’ll always have way too much pumpkin in this…OH WAIT I LOVE PUMPKIN!!!

  7. Wonderful! This looks absolutely delicious. I’m seem to go pumpkin crazy this time of year. :)

    Slightly off topic, but I recently discovered that some people in England never eat pumpkin. That’s just tragic to me. How can they not eat the greatest pie ever made?

    • If I remember correctly pumpkin is a new world food so it makes sense that they don’t eat pumpkin-based foods. In France, they are more likely to eat sweet potatoes in a savory application.
      No marshmallow fluff. Lol

      • tomatoes and potatoes are native to the americas but europe took the them pretty quick! it’s time for the pumpkin to shiiine

    • In Australia, pumpkin is considered a vegetable – it’s exclusively used in savory dishes. A lot of people here think pumpkin pie etc. is weird beyond belief!

      (Personally, I think it’s great savory or sweet!)

      • Yes exactly. I’ve never tasted anything sweet with pumpkin. I tried to make pumpkin pie once, it was a complete failure. I think I cooked the pumpkin wrong.
        Today I found a recipe for banana soup. I think I need to have less rigidly set boundaries in the kitchen.

      • Actually, my grandmother used to make pumpkin pie. I’m not a fan of pumpkin though, so I’ve never actually tried it :P

      • I’m Australian, and I’ve never tried pumpkin pie, but pumpkin scones are the love of my life.

  8. Do you think this would work with smaller pumpkins to make individual pumpkin stews or to have a really cool looking lunch at work?

  9. This sounds super delicious, and the pictures are amazing (I am watching Cinderella now because of this post). But, it’s been a long time since I’ve worked with a pumpkin, when you say spoon out the stew and pumpkin pieces, is that guts of pumpkin you removed earlier, or are you also cutting up the pumpkin container and eating it?

    Also, when I first read the sentence “I’d much rather eat Cinderella…” I interpreted it, um, rather more sexually than intended. ;)

    • I just meant, pour the stew into the pumpkin, but if you want you could also cut up the pumpkin and mix it with the stew.

  10. When I first wrote the sentence “I’d much rather eat Cinderella….” I thought the same thing.

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