Stuffed pumpkins give vegetarians a Thanksgiving centerpiece
If you're cooking for vegetarians at Thanksgiving, it's hard to resist the stuffed-pumpkin idea. The vegetarians have their main dish, everyone else has another side, and all is right with the world.
As tempting as it is to stuff a single large pumpkin, though, the degree of difficulty rises along with the poundage. A jack-o'-lantern-size specimen can require as much oven space as a turkey, and if its flesh gets too tender to hold the filling, well, you've got a disaster on your hands - or table.
It's easier than ever to find small sugar or pie pumpkins and other winter squash, and they're just the ticket for this preparation. Choose ones that are about two pounds or so, and each one can serve two guests, if not more. You can even use a variety of colors, for a striking presentation.
Next question: What to stuff it with?
I was more than intrigued when I spotted a recipe for Biryani Stuffed Pumpkins in a new cookbook, "The Vegetable: Recipes That Celebrate Nature" by Caroline Griffiths and Vicki Valsamis (Smith Street Books). The idea of using small pumpkins as vessels to cook one of my favorite Indian dishes seemed downright inspired.
The recipe is worth making just for the chance to fill your kitchen with the swoon-inducing aromas produced by the heady spices and other aromatics, which you combine with pistachios and dried cherries, then roast inside the pumpkin cavities. But it gets even better. You scrape out that mixture, along with a good amount of pumpkin flesh, stir in yogurt and then layer it all back into the pumpkins with basmati rice. Sprinkle the top layer with saffron-infused water, bake again, and just try not to dig in before these beauties even make it onto a platter.
It's mostly hands-off work, but if you prefer you can divide the job, roasting the pumpkins the first time a day (or days) before the Thanksgiving crunch. When you stuff and finish them closer to serving time, that showstopping aroma will return, I promise.
• Joe Yonan is the author of "Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook."