Millet Kasha Baked in a Pumpkin
Small pumpkins hollowed and filled with millet that finishes in the oven. The walls soften as the porridge cooks, so you scoop flesh and kasha together.
Ingredients
Pumpkins
- 2 small pie pumpkins, about 2 lb each
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
- Salt
Kasha
- 1 cup millet, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup raisins or chopped dried apricots, optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
To serve
- Butter
- Sour cream or honey
Instructions
Cut a lid from each pumpkin and scrape out the seeds and strings. Save the seeds to roast. Rub the cavities with the softened butter, a pinch of salt, and the sugar if using.
Rinse the millet until the water runs clear. Simmer it in the 2 cups water for 10 minutes, until the water is mostly absorbed and the grains are still firm.
Stir in the milk, 2 tablespoons butter, the raisins or apricots, and ½ teaspoon salt. A sweet pumpkin does not need sugar.
Fill each pumpkin about two-thirds full. The millet swells as it finishes. Set the lids back on. Place the pumpkins in a baking dish with a splash of water in the bottom so the skins do not scorch.
Bake at 350°F until a knife slides into the wall, 45 to 70 minutes. Thicker pumpkins take the longer end.
Scoop porridge and roasted flesh together. Finish with butter, and sour cream or honey if you want it.
Notes
Pie pumpkins and small sugar pumpkins work. A big carving pumpkin is watery and stringy; use that one for soup or wedges instead. Rinsing the millet matters — unrinsed millet tastes bitter. Orthodox fasting: skip the butter and milk, cook the millet in water, and rub the cavity with olive oil. On oil-free days, skip the oil too.