Argentinian Goulash in a Pumpkin

This very interesting dish was made by my mom's friend, Dubravka, whom she met on the airplane 14 years ago when she was flying to NYC to visit me. This friend coincidentally happened to be my English teacher from my middle school, 20 years ago! A small world we live in....

Anyways, Dubravka and my mom became good friends and they invite each other for dinners every once in a while, since they both like to cook. Goulash in a pumpkin is not something you see every day, so I thought I'd share this recipe. This might be just a perfect choice of dish if you are trying to impress someone.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large pumpkin
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 yellow onions
• 1 tbsp rakija (preferably apricot brandy), or another type of brandy
• 2-2.5 lbs beef, cut into cubes
• 1/2cup white wine
• salt, pepper, bay leave
• paprika, chill powder or Cayenne pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp mustard
• Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 apricot compote

Cut out the lid on your pumpkin and clean it out from the seeds. Preheat the oven to 450F.

Heat up oil and brandy in a pan and simmer the onions in it. Add beef, salt, pepper, bay leaf, garlic, paprika, and chili powder. Stir for a couple of minutes. Then add vine and cook over low heat for about 1 hour. The meat should be tender.

While the meat is cooking, bake clean and seeded pumpkin for 20 minutes at 450F. Then sprinkle cinnamon over it. Add goulash when its done cooking, and then add sugar to it. Arrange drained apricot slices on top.

Now that the pumpkin is filled with goulash, bake it at 250F for about 45-60 minutes, until it softens.

Serve the entire pumpkin. Eat goulash with pumpkin meat.

Plant your own giant pumpkins:

Flatbread Pizza with Artichoke Hearts

Here is a simple idea for easy to make party food- flat bread pizza! It is very night, not loaded with cheese and sauce. It looks pretty- everyone will ask you how you made it.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough:
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp flax seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast

Toppings:

1/8 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves

t tsp oregano

salt 1 tsp salt

3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

5 slices of ham

5 baby portobello mushrooms

5-6 pieces marinated artichoke hearts

1-2 tomatoes, sliced

grated Parmesan cheese

Roll out the pizza dough and place it on the parchment paper, or in the pregreased pan.

Mix oil, garlic, salt and oregano in a cut and allow it to infuse for some times. I usually prepare this while the dough is getting ready. Spread it over the dough as a base layer. You can also use butter instead of olive oil.

At this point, preheat the oven on 450F.

Then place all the toppings in order.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Then you can brush more olive oil on the crust and sprinkle some Parmesan over the top.

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