French Chicken Stew in a Pumpkin

This is our annual stew in a pumpkin.  We have been doing this for several years, now ever since I saw the recipe for Pumpkin Stew in Taste of Home . It is so much fun to make, and even more fun to eat. This year my husband wanted to make beef stew and I wanted to make chicken stew, so we had a "meeting of the minds" over this.  He said that he didn't like the chicken stew last time we made it. I told him that we would make it similar to the ingredients that we have in the Chicken Provencal Stoup from Rachael Ray. He still persisted that he wanted beef stew. In the end we made the French Chicken Stew, and he loved it:) The stew had garlic, onions,carrots, red potatoes, ripe sliced olives,mushrooms, white wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, chicken breasts, legs, and thighs, plus the cooked pumpkin. The aromas coming from your kitchen are wonderful.  

First you cook the stew in a Dutch oven on the stove for about 2 hours. When choosing a pumpkin, be sure that the pumpkin with top and stem on, will fit in your oven on the lowest rack, very important.  One year I bought a pumpkin that was too big for the oven, and we had to run out an buy a smaller one. Then, after you clean out a pumpkin, you transfer the stew to your pumpkin with the top on, and bake in the oven for about 2 hours. Don't over bake the pumpkin.  The best way to test to see if the pumpkin is soft, is from the bottom of the pumpkin, not the sides , like we did in the picture. When the bottom of the pumpkin is soft, you will get a scoop of soft pumpkin with easch serving of stew.

Whether you make, chicken stew, beef stew, or even a vegetarian stew, it will be wonderful. This Pumpkin stew makes a gorgeous presentation, if you can get it to the table. By the time you get all of the stew in the pumpkin in the pan, it's pretty heavy.  Luckily we weren't having company, so that's why the picture of the pumpkin is taken on the stove in bad lighting, sorry. Hopefully, you will have better luck with your pictures. Enjoy!

French Chicken Stew in a Pumpkin

Ingredients

• ¾ lb.Baby carrots  We like carrots
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil  
• 2  medium yellow skinned onion, peeled and halved
• ½ lb of button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence, available on spice aisle or, 1 teaspoon each dried sage, rosemary and thyme
• 6 small red skinned potatoes, quartered
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (can diced tomatoes (28 oz ounces)  
• 1 quart plus 1 cup chicken stock, available in quart boxes We used low sodium stock.
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in chunks, 3 skinless legs, and 3 skinless thighs
• 1 small  can sliced, ripe olives
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• ¼ cold water
• I pumpkin, washed

Preparation

   1. In Dutch oven, brown onions and garlic in 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, until soft. Add carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, chicken stock, white wine, tomatoes, Herbes de Provence, chicken stock, chicken breasts, legs, and thighs, and sliced olives .Cover and simmer for two hours.

    2. Place cornstarch in cup and mix in cold water.  Pour in Dutch oven and heat, till juices are thickened.

    3. Be sure that the pumpkin will fit in your oven on the lower rack, with the lid on with the stem. Wash pumpkin, cut a 6 in to 8 in circle around the top stem. Remove top and set aside. Discard the seeds and fibers from the inside.

    4.  Place the pumpkin in a sturdy, shallow pan.  Spoon stew in the pumpkin.  Brush the outsides of the pumpkin with cooking oil.

    5.  Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not over bake).  Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving. Yield: 8-10 servings

I'm linked up to Deelicious Sweets Pumpkin Blog Hop! Join me and look at all the glorious dishes made with Charlie Brown's favorite, "Great Pumpkin."