White Bean & Sausage Soup Stew in Pumpkin

A simpler recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's White Bean and Sausage Stew in Pumpkin Bowl

Serves 4

Preparation & Cooking Time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients:
1. 1 Hokkaido pumpkin
2. 1/2 TBS olive oil
3. 1/4 cup white beans
4. 1 large onion chopped
5. 1 bay leave
6. 1 cup water or chicken stock
7. 3-4 sausages
8. 2 TBS cooking oil
9. 1 clove garlic minced
10. 1 leek - white portion sliced thinly crosswise
11. 1 large carrots chopped crosswise and halfed
12. 1 celery chopped crosswise
13. 1 large potato cut into bite-sized cubes
14. 1 handful of oyster mushrooms sliced
15. 1/4 cup frozen peas
16. 1 cup fresh milk (3.5% fat)
17. 1/8 cup flour
18. 1 TBS cream (9% fat - kaffefløde) (optional)
19. Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook white beans with water or chicken stock, bay leave and onion. I cook using the pressure-cooker for 15 minutes when it reaches steam.

2. Pre-heat oven to 170 degree celsius.

3. Cut out top of pumpkin with a hole big enough to ladle soup into it. Remove pulp.

4. Rub inside of the pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper.

5. Place the pumpkin and its top on an oven-proof dish and bake for 25 minutes. Remove top and set aside.

6. Turn the pumpkin bowl up-side-down and bake for another 25 minutes. Set aside to cool down.

7. Heat wok with 1/2 TBS cooking oil and fry sausages 3-4 minutes on each side on moderate heat. Cut into bite-size and set aside.

8. Heat wok with 11/2 TBS cooking oil and fry garlic until golden on high heat.

9. Add carrots and celery fry until golden.

10. Add leeks and saute under moderate heat (no. 7.5 on my stove).

11. Add in mushroom and fry until fragrant.

12. Add potatoes, sausages and white beans including the liquid from cooking the white beans and simmer until moderate heat until the potatoes are cooked.

13. Add flour, stir and mix well.

14. Reduce heat to medium (no. 4.5 on my stove), add milk and simmer for 15 minutes until the stew is thick.

15. Add frozen green peas and stir for 1 minute.

16. Ladle stew into pumpkin bowl and bake for 10 minutes until stew is absorbed into the pumpkin bowl. (You will still have half of the portion remaining in the pot, which can be refilled into the púmpkin bowl).

17. Garnish with pumpkin top and serve.

Tips:
Serve with stone age bread cut into bite-size and toasted in the oven.

Additional Information:
Our love affair with pumpkin continues... Just love pumpkins - they are so cute and so tasty. I made this dish together with J for dinner this evening. J was very excited and he helped me to peel the potato. J and Daddy liked this soup stew. I will make it again. You can do completely away with the cream, and it will still taste good.

References:
http://www.marthastewart.com/338277/white-bean-and-sausage-stew-in-pumpkin-b

The top is now eaten, tasted caramel and very sweet.

Left-over, all combined with pumpkin and the stew gets and orange color