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Fire Pit Recipes
Whole Barbecued Pumpkin Stuffed with Beer and Sage Fondue
Make more of the humble pumpkin this Halloween or Bonfire Night with an autumnal fire pit recipe from Helen Graves, co-founder and editor of Pit magazine (the holy grail of live fire cooking). Pumpkins vary from the completely tasteless to the sweet but more expensive – if you want to eat the bowl then seek out the latter variety, such as the Delica. Don’t forget extra bread for dipping, and Helen likes to serve some of those little white cocktail onions, for punctuating the richness and aiding stamina.
LIVE FIRE: Seasonal Barbecue Recipes and Stories of Live Fire Traditions Old and New by Helen Graves (Hardie Grant, £26)
Photography: Rob Billington
Setup: Fire pit cooking
Wood: Oak, beech or apple if you have a choice, but well-seasoned hard wood will do
Equipment: Disposable foil tray, skillet pan (or another heatproof tray that will fit on the pit), Firepit Gloves are also handy here.
Prep time: 20 minutes / Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes – 1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 whole pumpkin (about 1.5 kg/3 lb 5 oz)
200 g (7 oz) Gruyère, grated
100 g (3½ oz) mature Cheddar, grated
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) beer
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or grated
A few sage leaves
2 thick slices of sourdough, torn in chunks, plus extra to serve
Small pickled onions (the small, white cocktail ones are perfect for this), to serve
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
- Prepare your fire pit for indirect cooking over medium heat, with the coals or wood banked on both sides.
- Remove the top of the pumpkin (keep the top), scoop out the insides and discard them. Place the pumpkin in the disposable tray or skillet pan in the centre of the grill and cook for 45 minutes.
- Combine the grated cheeses with the cornflour in a bowl and toss well.
- Mix the beer, garlic, sage leaves and some salt and pepper in a jug.
- Carefully layer up the chunks of sourdough, cheese and beer mixture inside the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin in a foil (or other heatproof) tray and put its hat on. Place a small chunk of wood on the lit coals (if using) until it starts to smoulder. Place the pumpkin back on the grill and cook for a further 30 minutes–1 hour (turning the tray around halfway through) or until the pumpkin is completely soft.
- Serve the pumpkin as a centrepiece with the extra bread and pickled onions.
