Pumpkin, Pancetta and Sage Soup Cooked in a Pumpkin Shell

My Own Pumpkin Patch

Sometimes I get inspiration for my recipes from nature; for instance, a sunset with brilliant colors may remind me of a special dessert. I was recently blessed with a new inspiration when I came upon the Pumpkin Patch in the Anza Borrego Desert in Southern California- lots of pumpkins but not the kind we are used to!

The Pumpkin Patch is an area with many spherical-shaped rocks, about the size of an average pumpkin. The sign tells us how these ‘pumpkins’ were made:

“This unique landscape is the result of wind and water continuously eroding the surface soil and revealing these globular sandstone concretions.

Photographer Floris van Breugel gave me special permission to use his beautiful photograph of the Pumpkin Patch. You can see more of his wonderful photography at http://www.artinnaturephotography.com/

So, after experiencing the beauty of this place, I was inspired to create my own ‘Pumpkin Patch’ with a recipe for Pumpkin, Pancetta and Sage Soup Cooked in a Pumpkin Shell. This involves first making a hearty soup with pumpkin and pancetta, then baking it inside of a hollowed-out pumpkin shell.

I used several small pumpkins for the shell: Orange Sparkler Pumpkins and Mini-Pumpkins. This makes a great company dish as a starter- each guest can eat the soup out of their very own pumpkin! When the soup is all gone, you can then eat the pumpkin shell if you wish.

Basic Preparation for the Pumpkin

• To cut the top off the pumpkin, first draw a line around the top, then make a cut placing the knife at a 45 degree angle.

Remove the top and remove all seeds and stringy bits. After baking the pumpkin (see instructions below), the pulp becomes softer and you can then scrape out more of the inside, if desired.