Gorgeous, delicious fall dish: Chicken baked in pumpkin

This recipe is one I have seen adapted in many ways to suit certain regions, cultures and time periods.

This recipe uses earthy ingredients without a lot of fanfare.  This version is from a French relative and brings with it some of the culinary culture of the French countryside.

To begin, select a fresh pumpkin about the size of basketball. Make sure it has a flat bottom and will sit up on its own.

Scrub the outside of the pumpkin well. Slice off the top of the stem end and remove the seeds and any loose flesh from the inside as well as from the inside of the cap. Keep the stem attached to the cap.

Set the cap aside, as you will need it in a few minutes.

Place the following inside the pumpkin:

2 large shallots, sliced thin

2 bay leaves

2 cubed parsnips (or turnips )

2 sliced carrots cut into bite-size pieces

2 ribs of celery cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. herbes de Provence

1 stick of salted butter — slice into pats

Pack this down into the pumpkin.

Place a whole chicken (if it will fit) or pieces that equal a whole chicken into the pumpkin.

Add an additional few pats of butter on top of the chicken.

Place the cap back on the pumpkin.

Coat the outside of the pumpkin, including the cap, in a thin coating of lard.

Place the filled and coated pumpkin on a large roasting dish.

Place in a 350-degree oven and roast for about 2 hours — check to see if the chicken is done; roast longer if you need to.  Roasting time is dependent upon the thickness of the chicken, the vegetables and pumpkin.

When you are satisfied your ingredients are fully cooked, remove the roasting dish holding the pumpkin from the oven. Important: Do not try to lift the pumpkin from the oven without the dish. It will collapse and you will have a hot, greasy mess to deal with — no one likes that!

The pumpkin will be a gorgeous fall color due to the heat and the lard.

Let the pumpkin rest for about 10 minutes before serving. You can now carefully use two utensils made for lifting to gently lift the pumpkin to a serving platter. Garnish with fresh bay leaves, kumquats and cranberries.

Serve in soup bowls, taking some of the interior flesh of the pumpkin along with the ingredients you added.

Crusty bread is all you need to make this into a memorable fall meal.