Autumn is a great opportunity to enjoy this baked Camembert cheese stuffed pumpkin. Creamy pumpkin with a light nutty flavour paired with melted cheese is a dreamy combination for a comforting Sunday meal. Crunchy pumpkin seeds, fresh thyme and pumpkin oil make it a real food experience.
This recipe will blow your mind. Firstly, it’s so easy to prepare. Secondly, you only need an oven and about 35 minutes time. And thirdly, it tastes amazing. A comforting and fulfilling meal all in one. Gorgeous!
I love pumpkins, from the most classic Hokkaido pumpkin, Muscat squash, Spaghetti squash, to Butternut squash. I love all of them, because of their flavour and versatility. In fact, you can prepare them in plenty of ways. For instance, you can cook or roast them, they bake wonderfully and they taste amazing in soups, risotto or salads.
Here are some of my favourite pumpkin recipes: pumpkin slaw burger, gorgeous quinoa stuffed butternut squash, roasted Hasselback butternut squash, pizza like pumpkin feta Flammkuchen or this vegetarian pumpkin mac and cheese.
And then there is cheese. One of my top five of all food. Oh yeah, I am a cheese freak. Pumpkin and cheese marry together perfectly. The particular cheese I used in this recipe is called Camembert. Camembert is a French cheese with a white, bloomy rind, known as a delicacy, and an incredibly slightly runny interior. Yummy.
More, usually, it is sold as a small wheel in a wooden box. It is known for its intense, almost pungent smell and nutty flavour. It has an earthy and mushroomy aroma, too. Let’s not forget that it’s also rich in protein, vitamins and calcium, despite being moderately high in fat. Wink.
Baked Camembert is such a popular appetizer, that you can combine it with different herbs and nuts or simply dig in with a piece of bread. But, at the same time, it can complement your main meal as well. Just like in this case. Melted, gooey cheese is marvellous, simply fabulous to enjoy on a cold day. Yeah, sometimes we have to spoil ourselves. Wink.
Camembert also has a distinguished strong, almost pungent flavour. Some people would say it stinks. Wink. But, it’s a good stink. Ha ha. I suppose you can use some other cheese as well, for instance, Brie. However, Camembert is just perfect, in size and shape. Also, I think, the thin white mold rind, keeps the gooey cheese perfectly in the right place. Wink.
What to buy first, pumpkin or cheese? That’s the real question. Wink. It really doesn’t matter. More importantly, they should fit together. Or more exactly, cheese should fit into the pumpkin. Wink. Try to pick a pumpkin that’s slightly larger than the cheese.
Cheese and pumpkin are already a wonderful combo. But I still had that feeling that there was something missing. A crunch! Therefore, I added some pumpkin seeds. And, for even more flavour, I drizzled everything with pumpkin oil. Yeeesssss.
The pumpkin seed oil has a dark colour, which seems almost brown, but it really has a dark green colour. Oh, I love it. It has an intense nutty flavour. Because of its nuttiness, it is suitable for hearty and sweet dishes. In fact, it pairs great with vanilla and tonka beans aroma and fruits, such as pears and apricots. You can add it to your cake batter or drizzle it over a scoop of vanilla ice. Wonderful!
More, pumpkin seed oil is also rich in heart-healthy fats, iron, magnesium, zinc and antioxidants. I love it in salads, such as bean or tomato salad. Lovely.
Ingredients for a baked Camembert cheese stuffed pumpkin:
- 1 Hokkaido pumpkin
- sea salt
- 1 Camembert cheese (round in a wooden box)
- fresh thyme
- pumpkin seeds
- pumpkin oil
To begin, wash the pumpkin and cut the top off (about one-quarter). Remove the seeds by scooping them with a spoon. Put both pumpkin pieces, cut side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then, place it in the oven at 190° C for about 20-30 minutes.
Once the pumpkin gets tender, remove it from the oven, season it with salt and sprinkle it with some fresh thyme. Set aside. In the meantime, place the cheese in the oven. After 10 minutes, take the cheese out of the oven, carefully, remove it from the “box” and place it in the pumpkin. Using a sharp knife, make a cross-cut into the cheese and place everything back in the oven for 10 more minutes.
Finally, serve the baked Camembert cheese stuffed pumpkin on a larger plate or cutting board. Add some pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of pumpkin oil for the full pumpkin flavour.
Enjoy.
